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Bacteria have flourished on the earth for over three billion years. They were the first life forms on the planet.
It is believed that the Incas used anesthesia. Evidence supports the theory that shamans chewed cocoa leaves and drilled holes into the heads of patients (letting evil spirits escape), spitting into the wounds they made. The mixture of cocaine, saliva, and resin numbed the site enough to allow hours of drilling.
Asthma cases in Americans are about 75% higher today than they were in 1980.
Stroke kills people from all ethnic backgrounds, but the people at highest risk for fatal strokes are: black men, black women, Asian men, white men, and white women.
About 3% of all pregnant women will give birth to twins, which is an increase in rate of nearly 60% since the early 1980s.