Stuff You Should Know

Does the body replace itself?

Mar 31, 2015
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ANECDOTE

Hosts Bump Into Each Other At A Game

  • Josh and Chuck describe a casual encounter at a Hawks game and joke about nosebleeds.
  • They use the conversation to segue into talking about blood and cell shedding.
INSIGHT

You Become A New Body Over Years

  • Most of the human body's cells are replaced over years, so you become largely new tissue every 7–10 years.
  • Dr. Jonas Frisen used carbon-14 spikes from nuclear testing to accurately date human cells and tissues.
INSIGHT

Nuclear Tests Left A Biological Timestamp

  • Atmospheric carbon-14 spiked from 1954–1963 due to nuclear testing and entered all living organisms.
  • Frisen matched that spike to tissue carbon-14 to create a cell-age calendar and date human cells precisely.
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