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Once thought to have neurofibromatosis, Joseph Merrick (also known as "the elephant man") is now, in retrospect, thought by clinical experts to have had Proteus syndrome. This endocrine disease causes continued and abnormal growth of the bones, muscles, skin, and so on and can become completely debilitating with severe deformities occurring anywhere on the body.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA was discovered in 1961 in the United Kingdom. It if often referred to as a superbug. MRSA infections cause more deaths in the United States every year than AIDS.
If all the neurons in the human body were lined up, they would stretch more than 600 miles.
Vaccines prevent between 2.5 and 4 million deaths every year.
About 3% of all pregnant women will give birth to twins, which is an increase in rate of nearly 60% since the early 1980s.