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Home » Radio Archive » Daily Show » The Vestigial Appendix

The Vestigial Appendix

January 30, 2007
https://podcast.scienceupdate.com/070130_sciup_vest.mp3

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BOB HIRSHON (host):
Is the appendix useless? I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.

Listener Megan Salazar of Escondido, California, called with this question:

MEGAN SALAZAR (listener):
What is your appendix for, anyway?

HIRSHON:
Well, biologist Dan Fong of American University says the appendix is widely considered a vestigial organ, meaning it’s left over from an earlier time in our evolution.

DANIEL FONG (American University):
Our appendix probably was a very large chamber in our distant ancestor to house a lot of bacteria to digest plant material. When we switched over to a meat-based diet we had less use for it, and in fact we now don’t have any use for it.

HIRSHON:
And of course it can cause problems, requiring an appendectomy if it gets inflamed. If you have a science question, call us at 1-800-why-isit. If we use it on the air, you’ll win a Science Update mug. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.

Category: Daily ShowTag: Biology, Medicine & Health
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