Science

3 Science claim verifications about human body human body ×

“Enzymes in the human body have changed their chemical structures in order to survive in an OH⁻-rich internal environment.”

False

The claim is not supported by biochemistry or human physiology. The human body is tightly buffered and is not generally an OH⁻-rich environment, and excess alkalinity tends to impair or denature enzymes rather than help them "survive" by changing structure. Enzyme adaptation to different pH conditions occurs through evolution across generations, not by individual enzymes chemically redesigning themselves inside the body.

“Walking barefoot on grass enables the human body to absorb electrons from the Earth's surface.”

Mostly True

The core claim is physically plausible: the Earth carries a negative surface charge, and conductive barefoot contact can equalize electrical potential, transferring electrons to the body. Multiple peer-reviewed papers report measurable changes in body voltage during grounding. However, the supporting research comes from a narrow group of authors, uses small samples, and frequently hedges with speculative language. The magnitude and physiological significance of this electron transfer remain scientifically contested, and no large-scale independent replication has confirmed the mechanism's health relevance.

“Approximately half of the cells in the human body are non-human cells, primarily composed of microorganisms such as bacteria.”

Mostly True

The claim is largely accurate. The best peer-reviewed research (Sender et al., 2016) estimates ~38 trillion bacterial cells versus ~30 trillion human cells, making bacteria roughly 56% of all cells — reasonably described as "approximately half." However, this is a point estimate for a 70 kg adult male with significant uncertainty (~25%) and population variation. The claim also omits that by mass, bacteria account for only ~0.2 kg, so "approximately half" applies to cell count, not biological dominance.