Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. The principal level of focus of physiology is at the level of organs and systems. Most aspects of human physiology are closely homologous to corresponding aspects of animal physiology, and animal experimentation has provided much of the foundation of physiological knowledge. Anatomy and physiology are closely related fields of study: anatomy, the study of form, and physiology, the study of function, are intrinsically tied and are studied in tandem as part of a medical curriculum.
Battle-inflicted head injuries are as old as war itself, evidenced by the copper helmets worn by Bronze Age soldiers to deflect blows from spears and axes. Over the ensuing millennia, as weapons evolved, so did armor. Today, the powerful explosive devices of 21st century warfare have once again raised the stakes, prompting urgent calls to re-engineer protective gear.
Could the sperm harpoon the egg to facilitate fertilization? That's the intriguing possibility raised by the University of Virginia School of Medicine's discovery that a protein within the head of the sperm forms spiky filaments, suggesting that these tiny filaments may lash together the sperm and its target.
ieCrowd today announced the achievement of an important milestone in the commercial development of the company's supplemental oxygen delivery device, Smart Oxygen. The Smart Oxygen device, being developed by ieCrowd's subsidiary Smart Oxygen Solutions, automatically adjusts to a patient's changing demand for oxygen based on level of activity.
Researchers have identified in an animal model the molecular mechanisms behind resilience to noise-induced tinnitus and a possible drug therapy that could reduce susceptibility to this chronic and sometimes debilitating condition. The findings by a team from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine were published online in the journal eLife.
In experiments with mouse tissue, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered that the adaptive immune system, generally associated with fighting bacterial and viral infections, plays an active role in guiding the normal development of mammary glands, the only organs--in female humans as well as mice--that develop predominately after birth, beginning at puberty.
The role of sex in human disease is a growing area of research. Although estrogen (in females) and androgens (in males) are often seen as possible causes for such differences, sex chromosomes, including the male-specific Y chromosome, may also play a role. However, it has been difficult to understand how the Y chromosome could contribute to disease in men, in part because it is much more difficult to sequence than all other chromosomes.
Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have uncovered key cellular functions that help regulate inflammation -- a discovery that could have important implications for the treatment of allergies, heart disease, and certain forms of cancer.
Studies are revealing that children born through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The increased risk is due to changes in the expression of the genes important for vascular health. These studies suggest that the composition of the solutions in which embryo fertilization and culturing are done is to blame.
If the intestinal bacteria level becomes unbalanced, it can cause diseases. Physiologists from the University of Zurich reveal how a specific carbohydrate in the intestinal mucosa heavily multiplies certain E. coli bacteria and thus causes inflammations. These could be treated with flu remedies, which opens up new therapeutic possibilities.
The molecular switches regulating human cell growth do a great job of replacing cells that die during the course of a lifetime. But when they misfire, life-threatening cancers can occur. Research led by scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) has revealed a new electrical mechanism that can control these switches.
An international group of researchers led by Carnegie Mellon University physicists Mathias Lösche and Frank Heinrich have established the structure of an important tumor suppressing protein, PTEN. Their findings provide new insights into how the protein regulates cell growth and how mutations in the gene that encodes the protein can lead to cancer.
The protein glycomacropeptide (GMP) is derived from whey, the liquid by-product of the cheese-making process. GMP contains low amounts of the amino acid phenylalanine. Individuals who suffer from phenylketonuria—a metabolic disorder that causes cognitive impairment when phenylalanine level is too high—can use GMP as an alternative protein source. GMP supplementation has also been observed to improve gastrointestinal health by protecting the digestive system from pathogens and by having an anti-inflammatory effect.
Previous studies have shown that diabetes adversely affects breathing and respiratory function. However, in the past, researchers have not differentiated diaphragm muscle cells and the muscle cells of limb skeletal muscle in their studies. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri have found that diaphragm muscle cells and other skeletal muscle cells behave differently--a finding that could influence future research on respiratory ailments associated with diabetes.
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers, in conjunction with NASA, will take four volunteer cancer patients on a zero-gravity ride into the upper atmosphere to study why zero-gravity conditions on the International Space Station sometimes affect the vision of astronauts staying there for extended periods.
The medical school model that has existed for decades involves two years of study in the basic sciences followed by two years of clinical study. An initiative under way at Penn State College of Medicine will involve students in developing a new curriculum that integrates the two areas of study, with a goal of preparing physicians for the new realities of health care.
Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic pain from no clear source. Patients with fibromyalgia frequently have sleep problems: Their deep sleep brain wave patterns are often disrupted by brain waves that correspond to wakefulness.
Quanta Fluid Solutions Ltd, a pioneering developer of advanced haemodialysis systems, announces it has received an Invention for Innovation (i4i) award worth £1.85 million from the National Institute for Health Research - the research arm of the NHS - to develop a new product concept for nocturnal haemodialysis.
Scientists have revealed never-before-seen details of how our brain sends rapid-fire messages between its cells. They mapped the 3-D atomic structure of a two-part protein complex that controls the release of signaling chemicals, called neurotransmitters, from brain cells. Understanding how cells release those signals in less than one-thousandth of a second could help launch a new wave of research on drugs for treating brain disorders.
With every breath you take, microbes have a chance of making it into your lungs. But what happens when they get there? And why do dangerous lung infections like pneumonia happen in some people, but not others? Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School have started to answer these questions by studying the microbiome of the lungs - the community of microscopic organisms that are in constant contact with our respiratory system.
Even without losing fat, more muscle appears to go a long way in fighting off the bad cardiovascular effects of obesity. That emerging evidence has scientists looking hard for new targets to uncouple the unhealthy relationship between fat and cardiovascular disease.
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