“Moebius syndrome is a rare neurological condition that primarily affects the muscles that control facial expression and eye movement.”

U.S. Library of Medicine (NIH.gov)

“Once I overcame breast cancer, I wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.”

Melissa Etheridge

“Staying at a healthy weight, being physically active, and limiting how much alcohol you drink can help reduce your risk of breast cancer.”

American Cancer Society

“Winter can be brutal, but research shows you might get some health benefits during the colder months. When it’s cold, your body has to work harder to maintain its core body temperature — and as a result, you might burn more calories. Colder temperatures can help reduce both allergies and inflammation.”

Harvard Health Publishing

It depends. Cold weather can be hard on your health in some ways, but it also be good for it, reports the January 2010 issue of the Harvard Health Letter. Most of us spend the winter trying to stay warm, but a little bit of exposure to cold may not be such a bad thing. There are two types of fat in the human body: white fat and brown fat. Brown fat is the heat-producing, calorie-burning fat that babies need to regulate their body temperatures. Most of it disappears with age, but adults retain some brown fat. Dutch researchers reported findings last year that showed that moderately cool temperatures of 61° F activated brown fat in 23 of 24 study volunteers. This is a good thing because brown fat burns calories more efficiently than white fat, and so may help control weight.

It can be tempting to spend the coldest mornings safely tucked under the covers; it’s only natural to want to avoid the most brutal temps. But during periods of such weather-induced isolation, we tend to reach out to contact our closest friends and family on the phone, and end up chatting with them for longer than usual, according to studies of 2012.

For some insects and even animals the freezing cold is not suitable for them and regarding our health well look here; during the summer of 2012 — when West Nile cases were climbing — much was made of the milder 2011-2012 winter and its effect on the disease-spreading mosquito population. The pests thrive in milder climates, meaning they were able to survive — and breed — all winter, just waiting to feast come spring. Freezing or below-freezing temps might kill off some skeeters (and ticks), thereby protecting you from the illnesses they are known to spread.

Through Psychology Today, some research suggests that if the weather never changes, you start taking that sunshine for granted. Shivering through the cold makes those warm spring days seem even better when they finally come along.

There’s a reason putting ice on an injury works. That drop in temperature reduces inflammation in, say, a sprained ankle or stubbed toe. But the theory works on a much grander scale, too — cold temperatures can reduce inflammation and pain all over.  In one recent study, researchers in Finland studied 10 women as they took 20-second plunges into near-freezing water, and also partook in sessions of cold-body cryotherapy (exposing the body to ultra-low temps for brief periods). After being exposed to the cold, participants’ blood showed three times as much norepinephrine, a naturally occurring chemical that may help suppress pain.  In fact, athletes and spa-goers even have a remedy of sorts available for muscle recovery. A 2011 study found that, at extremely low temperatures, such treatments, called cryotherapy, did more for athletes to recover from physical activity than simply resting. Runners who were exposed to temperatures as low as -166 degrees F recovered from exercise faster than those who given other therapies or told to rest, The Atlantic reported. Live in a cold-weather climate? Then you’re well aware that we’ve got a few more weeks of icy temps to endure. But those bitter winds could be doing you more good than you’d think: Preliminary research shows they may lead to a longer life.

In a study published in a recent issue of cell, researchers from the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Michigan discovered that worms exposed to cold temperatures demonstrate a genetic response that triggers longer life spans.

Studies have shown that exposure to freezing temperatures, even for short periods, can significantly increase your energy expenditure for hours afterward. Swim a few laps in cool water, or take a power walk in winter weather, to enjoy the perk up for your workout.

So enjoy the cold!

“Cotard delusion, also known as or nihilistic delusion or walking corpse syndrome or Cotard’s syndrome , is a rare mental disorder in which the affected person holds the delusional belief that they are already dead, do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs.”

Healthline.com

“Stone Man Syndrome. Extremely rare disease of connective tissue. A mutation of the body’s repair mechanism causes fibrous tissue (muscle, tendon, ligament) to be ossified when damaged. In some cases, injuries can cause joints to become permanently frozen in place. The gene that causes ossification is normally deactivated after a fetus bones are formed in the womb, but in patients with FOP, the gene keeps working.”

MAYO CLINIC

“This syndrome can affect multiple senses, including vision, touch, and hearing. You may also lose a sense of time. Time may seem to pass faster or slower than you think.  Alice in Wonderland Syndrome primarily affects children and young adults. Most people grow out the disordered perceptions as they age, but it’s still possible to experience this in adulthood.”

Healthline  (healthline.com)

“Alice in Wonderland syndrome is one of the most fascinating neurological symptoms described in the medical literature. Estimated to occur among about 10-20% of the population, Alice in Wonderland syndrome is an infrequent event that is believed to occur only a few times throughout the lives of most affected individuals. It is an experience that people can describe with varying levels of detail, the consistent feature being a fleeting sense of dystrophism without associated long-term or short-term disability.”

“January is National Blood Donor Month, declared by President Richard Nixon in 1970, to pay tribute to voluntary blood donors and increase donation by others.  The Red Cross needs to collect more than 13,000 donations every day to keep the blood supply ready and available to meet the needs of about 2,600 hospitals, clinics and cancer centers across the country. They rely on voluntary blood donors.”

American Red Cross