Metropolitan Digital

Google


.

What does the appendix do? Biologists explain the complicated evolution of this inconvenient organ

  • Written by Phil Starks, Associate Professor of Biology, Tufts University
What does the appendix do? Biologists explain the complicated evolution of this inconvenient organMost people get acquainted with their appendix when it's inflamed and about to rupture.Sebastian Kaulitzki/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Most people know only two things about the appendix: You don’t need it – and if it bursts, you need surgery fast.

That basic story traces back at least to Charles Darwin, the English naturalist...

Read more: What does the appendix do? Biologists explain the complicated evolution of this inconvenient organ

More Articles ...

  1. Abandoned Pennsylvania mines and waste-heat recycling could make the state’s massive new data centers far more sustainable
  2. I’ve studied MAGA rhetoric for a decade, and this is what I see in Hegseth’s boasts, action-movie one-liners and gloating over dominance
  3. Silicone wristbands can help scientists track people’s exposure to pollutants like ‘forever chemicals’
  4. Arming a Kurdish insurgency would be a risky endeavor – for both the US and Iran’s minority Kurds
  5. War in Middle East brings uncertainty and higher energy costs to already weakening US economy
  6. China’s muted response over war in Iran reflects Beijing’s delicate calculus as a concerned onlooker
  7. How Instagram addictiveness lawsuit could reshape social media – platform design meets product liability
  8. Today’s obsession with authenticity isn’t new – being true to yourself has troubled philosophers for centuries
  9. Venezuela’s fragile environment faces rising risks as US pushes for oil and critical minerals and illegal gold mining spreads
  10. When Washington and the states are in conflict, the ultimate winner is not always certain