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In many species, individuals are occasionally found which seem to break the "law" or principle which states that evolution cannot run backwards - developed by a chap named Rollo in the 1890s, it is apropriately called "Rollo's Law" in case you are ever asked this on an episode of Jeopardy :---). However, it seems that this law is routinely repealed by Mother Nature: in 1919, for example, a humpback whale with well formed rear limbs was caught, recalling a period many moons earlier, when the ancestors of Cetaceans walked on land like normal mammals. Dolphins also sometimes sport rear limbs, as do several species of snakes on an occasional basis. In on particular species, folks are sometimes born with tails and other remnants of times gone by (and yes, we do indeed have genes, normally dormant, which code for tail-growning: if God micro-managed the creation process, as many Biblical literalists assert, this one would be difficult to explain except as a bit of Divine Comedy.....) such as the appendix and to some extent the tonsils: they can be removed with no noticeable effect upon the health of their former owners.
There are over 200 conditions which can cause dwarfism, which refers to people who are short in stature yet some of whose body parts such as heads, are more normal in size than the other parts (as opposed to midgets, who are also vertically challenged, but who have normally proportioned bodies). Each of these causes have a different set of health problems associated with them: few true dwarfs are robustly healthy overall.
The relationship between emotions and health has long been debated, and indeed, many articles and books have been written on the topic. The results of a wide variety of experiments and studies has been decidedly "mixed" - for example, it has been demonstrated that there is no such thing as a "cancerous personality" - people who are "type A", highly agressive and often angry, while they may have other health problems more frequently than more sanguine, happy folks, are NOT more cancer-prone than average. That said, a number of well-run studies are increasingly finding that there is indeed a correlation (although it is often unknown whether these are of a causitive nature or not...... trying hard to become a happier, more relaxed person may or may not produce health benefits (but that shouldn't stand in your way!!)) between emotions and certain categories of disease or disorder. For example, two recent articles in credible journals (sorry - lost the references!!) have reported that people with more frequent positive emotions and a generally positive outlook on life, do not develop as many or as intense cold or influenza symptoms - they are just as likely to become infected, but the symtoms, such as upset stomach, runny nose or headaches, are considerably reduced in all aspects. Also, people with severe depressions, who very seldom experience positive emotions, are more likely to have strokes than those who may seem equally depressed but who nevertheless have "up-beat" or positive periods. In any case, no matter how you look at it, a positive outlook on life will help you cope with almost any ill wind, illness-related or not, which comes your way in life :-+).
85 to 90% of sexual assaults on children are committed by people the child already knows and trusts - a relative (almost always male), family friend, baby sitter....... yet in the news and in many programs supposedly designed to help prevent sexual abuse, the emphasis is overwhelmingly upon avoiding, escaping from, and being wary of and around "strangers" - people whom the child DOESN'T know, and whom are responsible for a maximum of 15% of all child molestation - probably considerably less, since many cases where a child is harmed by a close relative (father, uncle, cousin) are never reported, but instead "dealt with" (or not, as the case may be) within the framework of the family itself, to avoid shame and other reality-distorting emotions which simply don't apply to "strangers". This sad and often tragic situation continues to perpetuate itself, via catchy slogans like "Stranger Danger" and miguided use of community resources to make children ultra-cautious about the one category of people responsible for the **least** amount of harm, while virtually ignoring the vast majority of dangerous people and situations which the child may encounter. The reasons for this sorry state of affairs are pretty obvious: 1) "Stranger" molestations are uncommon, unexpected, often random and unpredictable, and usually very public and dramatic in nature: they cause a lot of fear and uncertaincy in the general population, who do not usually use cold-blooded statistical analysis when deciding who or what to be afraid of, or how to prevent or minimize harm in general. 2) Molestation and indeed, all manner of harm by people close to the victim and trusted, is a much more common occurance than people are often willing to admit - and being common and often predictable (as in "Always thought uncle Jim was a bit *too* friendly with little Jennie...."), they don't make the news or cause alarm as often as the far less common, more "sensational" cases where "strangers" are involved., and 3) As mentioned above, most people are ashamed to admit that someone they know and trusted, took advantage of that trust to cause harm such as child molestation or "domestic" violence. Also, in many cases, especially where the father is the perpetrator, the victim often continues to feel affection for them and doesn't tell anyone that the abuse is happening - and even when they do, it is often a case of the child's word against their parent or relative, and for various reasons (fear, dependancy, misplaced affection...) the adult is often the one who is believed. That said, lawmakers and those entrusted with wise use of community resources, should put emotions and misconceptions aside and take a good hard look at the facts and figures - and act accordingly. Yes, they are "representatives" of their cons uants, but they have also been entrusted with great responsibility, which they should exercise in accordance with reality, instead of personal or societal perception or prejudice
