I’m a Scientist is like school science lessons meet the X Factor! School students choose which scientist gets a prize of $1000 to communicate their work.
Scientists and students talk on this website. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn. But only the students get to vote.
This zone is the Organs Zone. It has scientists studying health and disease in various parts  of our bodies. Who gets the prize? YOU decide!
Hi pommypomtom,
Did you know you produce about a liter of mucus a day?
Mucus is produced by special cells and helps to protect against infection causing pathogens by creating a physical barrier and a chemical barrier that breaks down “lyses” the bacteria.
Your snot turns green as a result of dead white blood cells, dead bacteria, minerals and mucus.
Your mucus is clear during the early stages of a cold when your immune system has not had a chance to kill any pathogens- so there’s no casualties of the interns war going on between your immune system and the pathogen!
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Great answer, Mel!
And an awesome reason to never pick your nose and eat it 😉
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My daughter had an impacted sinus that had to be cleaned out. You wouldn’t believe the colours of snot that were in there!!!!
Gross.
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This is interesting. Thanks Mel. I looked it up and found out a little more detail.
White blood cells do their job by essentially surrounding and gobbling up nasty microorganisms, and they hold them inside the cell in little digestive sacs. To digest the microorganism — the virus or bacteria that’s making you sick — the white blood cells rely on enzymes, proteins that can help to kill or chew up the microorganisms.
The enzyme in the white blood that chews up the nasty stuff is called myeloperoxidase. Myeloperoxidase has a lot of iron in it. After the white blood cells have been fighting infection for a while, they fall apart and spill their myeloperoxidase into your mucus. Once the myeloperoxidase is released, the iron reacts with the mucus environment and turns your snot yellow/green. Mmmm.
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Just to add to everyone’s comments, the colour indicates that a fierce battle has occurred, and most often than not, signifies the end of sickness.
Love to get rid of this stuff from my sinus when i’m recovering. I can literally see all of the goop that had me congested!
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