00:01oh boy don't get too mad about that sticky green goo on your hands because
00:06without it you'd get sick I mean a lot more this gross substance is actually
00:12one of the most important things keeping you alive it's so important that your
00:16body produces about 0.3 gallons of mucus every single day and it covers roughly
00:21200 times more surface area than skin so yeah we're basically walking mucus
00:26factories I know but what exactly is mucus most people think it's the same as
00:34snot but no snot is just one type of mucus like phlegm or sputum mucus is more than
00:42that it's a slippery gel like substance produced by goblet cells these are
00:47specialized epithelial cells shaped a bit like a fancy drinking glass narrow at
00:53the base and wide at the top some mucus lines your respiratory digestive
00:57urinary and reproductive systems basically it works like a shield it traps
01:02bacteria viruses and fungi keeping them from doing bad things to you this
01:08substance is 95% water and the other 5% is the gross goo you see in a tissue
01:14after you blow your nose or clear your throat what gives mucus its gel like
01:18texture is something called mucins these are huge long molecules that look a bit
01:24like fuzzy caterpillars they're covered in sugar and that's what gives mucus its
01:29superpower it can be thick and sticky enough to trap gunk but still slick and
01:34runny enough to move along and wash out if mucus were too watery dust and germs
01:41would just slide right through like they're on a water slide if it were too thick it
01:46would sit there like glue and never go anywhere but mucins keep it right in the
01:51middle it's like a gel that can stretch and catch things but still flows when it
01:56needs to that's how it lines all the wet surfaces of your body like your eyes
02:01throat lungs and gut in your nose for example mucus is like a bodyguard actually
02:08it's more like a bouncer think of your body as a fancy nightclub and mucus is at the
02:13entrance if oxygen shows up mucus is like hey come on in but if a shady group of
02:18germs tries to walk in mucus doesn't let them through basically the germs get
02:23trapped in the goo right at the door until your body gets rid of them and like any
02:28employee of the month mucus does all the extra work it lubricates and
02:33moisturizes organs and other structures in your body it helps you swallow digest
02:38smell and even reproduce plus it keeps your gut healthy I'll stop there but the
02:44list goes on not long ago scientists believed mucus covered the inside of the
02:50body like a simple carpet but it's actually a highly dynamic system sometimes
02:56it's more permeable sometimes less mucus can adapt and even change what it looks
03:02like depending on what your body needs for example during ovulation the mucus in
03:08the female reproductive tract gets thinner and more watery which makes it
03:12easier for male reproductive cells to pass through so scientists realized mucus can
03:18adapt fast when something foreign shows up to it doesn't just trap microbes it can
03:24actually change what they do over millions of years mucus has become more than a
03:30sticky protective barrier now it's like a bossy manager that tells microbes how to
03:36behave it's somehow learned to keep germs in check without wiping them out
03:41completely and that raised a big question for scientists how does it do that one
03:48big clue showed up when researchers tested a troublemaking bacteria called
03:53pseudonoma's arenginosa this germ is especially dangerous when it teams up and
03:58builds a slimy toxic fortress called biofilm for a long time people assumed
04:05mucus might actually make that worse because sticky stuff sounds like the
04:09perfect place for bacteria to clump together but when scientists put the
04:14bacteria into a solution with mucins the opposite happened instead of gathering
04:19into a group the microbes stayed apart they couldn't organize as well they were
04:24less likely to become aggressive and they were much slower to start building biofilms
04:30later tests showed that the sugars on mucins help keep the bacteria calm they
04:35don't poison the microbes or wipe them out they basically distract them the
04:40bacteria taste those sugars and something shifts the genes they use to
04:45communicate make toxins and built biofilms get turned down it's like the
04:50bacteria go from let's start a riot to I'm good so scientists say mucus works
04:57like giving a lollipop to a kid the kid doesn't disappear they just calm down and
05:02stop causing trouble in the same way mucus can make some pathogens less
05:07aggressive even while your body is busy sweeping them out cool huh and it gets
05:13more interesting mucins don't carry just one type of sugar they carry dozens like
05:19a whole menu different types of sugars can push different microbes in different
05:24directions in other words mucus isn't only a trap it's also like a chemical
05:30babysitter keeping microbes calm and behaving long enough for your body to get
05:35rid of them this little trick could open up some exciting possibilities in
05:39medicine scientists are now studying how to copy what mucus does the idea is to
05:45give bacteria certain types of sugars or safe look-alikes to calm them down and
05:50make them less dangerous but it won't wipe them out and if microbes don't need to
05:55fight back they probably won't develop resistance to the treatment see how big
06:00this is right recently researchers managed to create mucus like gels this
06:06invention didn't use human mucus though it used cow mucus early tests show these
06:12gels helped block the spread of viruses offering strong protection in many cases
06:17for example they prevented herpes transmission in 80% of cases the study
06:24also looked at other possibilities they said the gel can be injected into the
06:28body and then it hardens in place acting like a soft implant the team is even
06:34studying whether mucus like gels could shield transplanted cells and help them
06:38survive inside the body by the way if everything is okay with you mucus is
06:44usually clear thin and slippery if it's thick or it has some color it could mean
06:49you have health problems for example if it's white or light yellow it might be a
06:55sign of a cold red or pink can happen if your nose is dried out or irritated brown
07:00is usually linked to poor air quality like pollution or smoke things like
07:06allergies hormone issues and digestive problems can also change how much mucus
07:10you have what color it is or how thick it feels in different parts of your body
07:15but don't stress too much about it mucus color alone doesn't tell you exactly
07:19what's going on if you notice anything unusual check with a doctor they'll know
07:24what to do up until now we've mostly talked about mucus as your body's slimy
07:31best friend and it is when it's in the right amount and the right texture but if
07:36there's too much of it or if it gets too thick and sticky it can turn against the
07:40very organ it's supposed to protect it's estimated that over 200 million people
07:46around the world produce excessive mucus that can cause a lot of problems for
07:51example mucus can build up in the lungs which makes it really hard to breathe it can also
07:56make people cough non-stop so let's recap mucus is great but only in the right amount
08:03it lines several organs and acts as the first line of defense against foreign invaders it
08:08also supports essential body functions like digestion and can help prevent health problems
08:14and it's much more than a sticky physical barrier it's a substance that can morph adapt and
08:19even change the behavior of invading microbes that's why more and more experts are looking
08:25at this and thinking this sticky goo can actually be a gold mine for new treatments
08:34that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share
08:39it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side
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