Have you ever wondered how your body knows when is it time to pass stool and when is it the time to pass only gas? Have you ever wondered how both existing in the same route usually do not create confusion? It is like as humans, we know when we need to use the loo or when we must excuse ourselves only for a few seconds. So, how does it happen? Your digestive system is an intricate network of organs, nerves, and muscles which work in harmony. Among its many functions, one of them is to be able to differentiate gas and stool, and it is an essential one as it prevents embarrassing accidents.

How Does Your Body Know?

Your gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the long tube that runs from your mouth to your anus. Once food moves through your stomach and intestines, the digestion process is complete, and waste material gathers in the rectum—the final storage area before elimination.

Directly below the rectum is the anal canal, which serves as the passage between the rectum and the anus. This final section of your GI tract plays a crucial role in distinguishing between gas and stool.

Your Body Has Gatekeeper

These gatekeepers are called the sphincters. Let's have a look how it works:

• The internal anal sphincter – This involuntary muscle remains tightly closed at rest, maintaining continence.
• The external anal sphincter – This voluntary muscle gives you control over when to pass stool or gas.

As per gastroenterologists, the external sphincter is our squeeze muscle and when we feel the urge to poop but are not present in the right place, we engage this muscle to hold it in. Whereas the internal sphincter automatically tightens to prevent any accidental leakage.

Anal Sampling Mechanism

One of the key reasons you can distinguish gas from stool is the rectoanal inhibitory reflex (RAIR)—also known as the anal sampling mechanism.

Here’s how it works:

When the rectum fills with gas or stool, the internal sphincter temporarily relaxes, allowing a small amount of contents to enter the anal canal.

Sensory receptors in the anal mucosa (a specialized membrane lining the anal canal) then "sample" the contents to determine whether it’s gas, liquid, or solid.

If it’s gas, your body knows it’s safe to release. If it’s solid, the external sphincter stays engaged until you decide it’s time to poop.

What is extremely essential in such a scenario is our body's ability to differentiate between gas and stool. Scientists believe that it involves a high concentration of sensory nerve endings in the anal canal that helps us understand the difference. These work due to some of the specialized nerve receptors, which include:

• Meissner’s corpuscles – Sensitive to touch and vibration
• Pacinian corpuscles – Detect pressure changes
• Krause end-bulbs – Respond to temperature shifts
• Genital corpuscles – Sensitive to friction and texture

In fact, a study titled Anorectal Sampling: A Comparison of Normal and Incontinent Patients examined how the anal sampling mechanism contributes to continence. The researchers compared 18 individuals with fecal incontinence to 18 healthy controls. It found that spontaneous sampling, which is referred to as the ability to detect rectal contents occurred in 16 out of 18 healthy individuals but only 6 out of 8 incontinent patients. This study supported the idea that the anal sampling mechanism plays a crucial role in maintaining continence. When it malfunctions, people struggle to differentiate between gas and stool, leading to accidental leakage.

Lumps can develop in breast tissue in people of all sexes and genders. If you notice a lump, whether you suspect it might be a cyst, a tumor, or something else, it is important to consult a doctor. While most breast lumps are not cancerous, some noncancerous lumps still need treatment, and only a medical professional can confirm whether a lump is cancerous or not.

To understand the difference, we spoke with Dr. Sumol Ratna, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at NIIMS Medical College & Hospital.

Breast Cysts vs. Tumors

The most common types of breast lumps are cysts and tumors, and knowing the difference can help reduce worry. Dr. Ratna explains, “A breast cyst is a fluid-filled sac that forms within the breast tissue. These are usually non-cancerous and are most often seen in women between 30 and 50, especially after menopause.”

Cysts may appear as a single lump or multiple lumps of varying sizes. Depending on the amount of fluid inside, a cyst may feel soft or firm. Hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle can sometimes make them feel larger or slightly tender. Most of the time, cysts do not cause pain, although mild discomfort may occur at the lump site. Diagnosis is usually done via ultrasound, and if a cyst is found, a fine needle aspiration can confirm it contains fluid. Once drained, the cyst typically shrinks or disappears.

A breast tumor, on the other hand, is an abnormal growth of cells in the breast. Dr Ratna said, “Tumors may be benign or malignant. Benign tumors, such as fibroadenomas, are solid, well-defined, and do not spread to other parts of the body. Malignant tumors, however, are cancerous and can invade nearby tissues or organs.” Tumors are generally hard, irregularly shaped, and fixed in place. They may sometimes cause changes like skin dimpling or fluid from the nipple, but pain is usually not present.

Types of Breast Cysts

• Simple cysts: Completely filled with fluid, always noncancerous, with thin, smooth walls.
• Complex cysts: Have thick, irregular walls and may contain some solid mass or debris. Doctors may drain fluid to test for abnormalities and rule out cancer.
• Complicated cysts: Combine features of simple and complex cysts. They usually have thin, smooth walls but may contain small amounts of debris.

How Doctors Tell the Difference

Doctors use a range of tests to determine whether a tumor is benign or malignant. Cysts are generally smooth and movable, while tumors tend to be hard and fixed. Ultrasound is commonly used for diagnosing cysts, whereas tumors usually require mammograms and biopsies.

While both cysts and tumors can appear as single lumps, their characteristics and implications are very different. Any noticeable change in the breast shape, or discharge from the nipple, should prompt a visit to a breast specialist. Early evaluation is key to peace of mind and proper treatment.

Alcohol addiction is a disease that plagues many people throughout the world. According to the World Health Organization, 209 million people in the world live with alcohol dependence. In 2024, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recorded that 27.9 million people aged 12+ had Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) 775,000 youth (3.0%) and 27.1 million adults (10.3%) had AUD.

Alcohol has also been attributed to 2.6 million deaths in 2019. Addiction has cost many lives, however, despite knowing how bad alcohol is for not just their health, but their relationships, people still go back to it. Why? A new study may have found the answer to that.

What makes a person keep drinking alcohol, even when it harms their health and relationships?

A new study from Scripps Research offers a major clue. It shows that people often drink not for pleasure, but to escape the stress and misery of withdrawal. A tiny area in the brain is key to this learning process.

What Part Of The Brain Is Responsible For Relapse?

In a study published on August 5, 2025, researchers focused on a group of brain cells in rats located in a small, central area called the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT).

The researchers found that the PVT area became much more active when the rats learned that drinking alcohol would make the awful feelings of withdrawal go away.

The problem people with alcohol dependency face is that this activity in the PVT drives a powerful urge to seek alcohol, leading to strong relapse behavior.

The researchers explained that the thing that makes addiction so hard to break is in the psychology, some people are not just chasing a high. They explain that many times these people are trying to get rid of powerful negative states, like the stress and anxiety of withdrawal.

Where Does Alcohol Addiction Stem From?

Millions of people struggle with alcohol use disorder, which often involves a difficult cycle: trying to quit, dealing with painful withdrawal, and then relapsing (starting to drink again). This study helps explain why the urge to relapse is so powerful. The study showed that the brain learns a powerful lesson: alcohol stops the pain.

Rats quickly learned that drinking gave them relief from the stressful, bad feelings of withdrawal.

This learning was so strong that they would try very hard to get alcohol—they kept seeking it out even if they had to overcome difficulties or faced punishment.

In every rat that learned this pattern, a tiny area of the brain called the PVT became highly active, or "lit up." This is the circuit that links alcohol to relief from stress. The PVT is already known to handle stress and anxiety, so it makes sense that it activates to escape the stress of withdrawal.

Can You Manipulate Your Brain To Not Relapse?

The findings are important for more than just alcohol addiction. The brain's drive to act in order to escape stress or pain is common in many human behaviors. The results could help treat other conditions, including:

• Anxiety disorders.
• Intense fear or learning to avoid things after trauma.

Researchers now plan to study women and look closely at the chemicals in the PVT area. If they can find the specific molecules involved in this escape learning, it could open new doors for creating better medications that target the brain's mechanism for avoiding pain, offering a new way to help people recover.

We all make mistakes, however, not all of them can be fixed. Many times, things we thought were harmless could create a big mess for us. An orthopedic surgeon on Instagram listed 8 mistakes that we make that are harming our health.

Many things we do every day without thinking can actually cause serious damage to our bodies over time. Dr. Manan Vora, an orthopedic surgeon, recently shared advice on habits that quietly hurt our organs and what we should watch out for to stay healthy.

He points out that simple actions like mouth breathing, sitting too much, or listening to loud music can affect your health in big ways. Being aware of these habits and making small changes can help protect your organs and improve your overall well-being.

Lungs: Stop Mouth Breathing

Breathing through your mouth instead of your nose can dry out the important tubes in your lungs. This dry environment makes you more likely to catch colds and other infections. Over time, mouth breathing can cause long-term breathing problems and makes it harder for your body to get enough oxygen. Try to practice breathing through your nose.

Heart: Avoid Long Sitting Periods

When you sit down for many hours without moving, the blood flow in your body slows down a lot. This lack of movement forces your heart to work harder, putting extra stress on it over time. To protect your heart, you should set a timer and make sure to get up to stretch or take a short walk for a few minutes every single hour.

Eyes: Don't Rub Them

Rubbing your eyes might feel like a comfort when they itch or feel tired. However, this action can be harmful. Rubbing can easily introduce germs from your hands into your eyes, leading to infections. Worse, it can cause tiny scratches on the clear front part of your eye, which could lead to long-term vision problems.

Stomach: Slow Down Your Eating

If you eat your meals too quickly or constantly eat too much food, it can seriously upset your stomach and digestion. The stomach needs time to break down food efficiently. To help your stomach, make sure you chew your food properly, enjoy your meal slowly, and try to stick to smaller, more reasonable portions throughout the day.

Liver: Skip Heavy Late-Night Meals

Eating a big, rich meal right before you go to bed puts a huge workload on your liver while it should be resting. This nighttime feasting can also slow down your metabolism, making it harder for your body to process energy. It is much better for your liver if you finish your dinner at least two to three hours before you sleep.

Kidneys: Stay Hydrated

Your kidneys work hard to clean your blood, but they need enough water to do their job correctly. If you don't drink enough water and become dehydrated, it can cause severe strain on your kidneys. This dehydration also greatly increases your risk of developing painful kidney stones. Drink water consistently all day long to keep your kidneys healthy.

Brain: Focus on One Task

Doing several things at once, known as multitasking, might feel like you're getting more done, but it actually hurts your brain. Constantly switching your attention reduces your focus and makes your memory weaker over time. The expert suggests that you will be more productive and your thinking will improve if you focus all your attention on completing just one task before moving on to the next.

Ears: Lower the Volume

Regularly exposing your ears to very loud music, especially through headphones, can damage the delicate parts inside your ear. This is not temporary damage; it can lead to permanent hearing loss over time. To keep your hearing safe, always keep the volume at a moderate level and give your ears breaks from noise whenever possible.