Lasting Pain

Scott LaFee
Tue, 24 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0700
Lifestyle

Generally speaking, chronic pain lasts longer for women than it does for men. New research suggests differences in hormone-regulated immune cells called monocytes may explain why.

Some monocytes release a molecule that switches off pain. These cells are more active in males due to higher levels of sex hormones such as testosterone; they are less active in females.

"The difference in pain between men and women has a biological basis," said study author Geoffroy Laumet at Michigan State University. "It's not in your head, and you're not soft. It's in your immune system."
Updated: Wed Mar 25, 2026

Generally speaking, chronic pain lasts longer for women than it does for men. New research suggests differences in hormone-regulated immune cells called monocytes may explain why.

Some monocytes release a molecule that switches off pain. These cells are more active in males due to higher levels of sex hormones such as testosterone; they are less active in females.

"The difference in pain between men and women has a biological basis," said study author Geoffroy Laumet at Michigan State University. "It's not in your head, and you're not soft. It's in your immune system."

The findings suggest monocytes might be manipulated into producing more signals to calm pain, but any real-world treatments are still likely years away.

Body of Knowledge

Under ideal conditions — pitch-black night, flat horizon, no atmospheric distortion — the human eye can detect a candle flame up to 30 miles away, though more practical estimates suggest the maximum range is closer to 1.6 miles. The most distant object visible to the unaided human eye is V762 Cassiopeiae, a star roughly 16,000 lightyears, or 151,371,687,561,292,800,000 miles, away.

Counts

1.63: Number in millions of excess deaths among Black people compared to white people in the U.S. between 1999 and 2020, according to STAT. One hypothesis suggests the increased levels arise from stress due to discrimination that leads to specific health consequences, such as inflammation. A recent study found that higher cumulative levels of stress across the lifespan and inflammation accounted for 49% of the increased mortality risk among Black people in the study population.

Doc Talk

Tough stick: Medical slang for a patient who is difficult to draw blood from

Phobia of the Week

Acarophobia: Fear of itching or of the insects that cause itching

Life in Big Macs

One hour of energetically chopping wood burns 1,156 calories (based on a 150-pound person), the equivalent of 1.6 Big Macs.

Never Say 'Diet'

The Major League Eating speed-eating record for matzo balls (baseball-sized) is 21 in 5 minutes, 25 seconds, held by Eric Booker.

Best Medicine

Thank you for calling the Weight Loss Hotline.

If you'd like to lose half a pound right now, press "1" 18,000 times.

Perishable Publications

Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases like "nonlinear dynamics." Sometimes they don't, yet they're still hard to figure out. Here's an actual title of actual published research study: "On human odour, malaria mosquitoes, and Limburger cheese."

Published in The Lancet in 1996, Dutch entomologist Bart Knols revealed that the malaria-spreading mosquito Anopheles gambiae was particularly attracted to human feet and Limburger cheese, both of which can be quite stinky. Knols suggested the latter might be used for mosquito traps. Stepping on mosquitos is not practical. They can smell you coming.

Observation

"I have finally come to the conclusion that a good reliable set of bowels is worth more to a man than any quantity of brains." — American writer William S. Burroughs (1914-1997)

Medical History

This week in 1845, a patent was awarded for an adhesive medicated plaster (No. 3,965) involving rubber dissolved in a solvent, then spread on fabric. Think "Band-Aids" before there were actually "Band-Aids," which didn't appear until 1920.

The plaster was designed to be porous to allow free release of perspiration and "other morbid matter which may exude." The fabric made it easier to remove.

Med School

Q: Which of these fluids is cleared out of the body on an "escalator" of tiny hairlike cilia?

A) Mucus

B) Lymph

C) Bile

D) Urine

A: A) Mucus. Often maligned as a gross side effect of being sick, mucus is constantly made by the body to line parts of the lung, where it catches harmful particles before they go too deep. When you're healthy, tiny hairlike cilia move the mucus up and out, sliding down the back of the throat without you noticing it. But when you're sick, the mucus is harder to move and requires aid, such as coughing.

Curtain Calls

In 2004, 24-year-old Aidan Bray of Kent, Washington, was killed when a lava lamp exploded, piercing his heart with glass shards covered in blue waxy goo. Ordinarily, the lamps pose no explosive threat. They are slowly heated by a 40-watt bulb, but Bray attempted to speed the process by placing the lamp on a lit stove.