Three Questions! (December 14)

SA node

1. Lately I have turned in my Frankenstein Essay and almost finished reading The Picture of Dorian Gray in English. In Anatomy, we started the Cardiovascular System and got all of our packets.
2. I've learned that a baby's heart starts beating alone, without the help of an electrical impulse! Pretty crazy stuff!  This is due to a piece of tissue, called the SA node, that regulates the pace of the heart, the pacemaker. When someone's heart beats irregularly, a pacemaker is inserted that takes the place of the SA node.
3. Next week I play on studying like crazy for my finals in every class. What a joy! And on top of all of that, I just got sick. High school is flying by, but I'm looking forward to a break from this semester .

SA node image from http://drugline.org/img/term/sa-node-13124_3.jpg

Three Questions! (December 7)

Skyfall Poser- Because who doesn't love Daniel Craig?

1. Lately I've been pretty overwhelmed with school. The last couple weeks have been pretty intense, and I still have finals to study for. I've completed my anatomy packets and studied to the Endocrine/ Reproductive System test. I also went to see Skyfall this weekend, which I enjoyed. I recommend seeing it.
2. I learned how hormones work, and what happens when they are hyper/hypo secreted into the body. I also learned that the reproductive systems are SUPER complicated and childbirth is pretty..graphic. In math, we started chapter 7. So far we've done area between two curves and 'integrals as a net change'.
3. Next week I need to finish writing my written portion of my French final, finish my Frankenstein Essay, and keep on with my reading of Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm really liking it so far. Oscar Wilde's writing is pretty awesome. I also must take the end of course exam for English. It's pretty stupid that we have to take a test over material that we have no foreknowledge about. Pretty stupid indeed.

Skyfall Poster from http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinchefsky/2012/10/23/review-skyfall/

Hormones & Stress!

Student Stressing

As well all know, stress can be unhealthy and quite frankly, stressful. Even animals endure physical and physiological stress. But what is stress? Stress is a condition that the body is in due a stressor, which is a factor that changes the body's internal environment that can threaten life. Short term stressors are those that cause the body so put necessary processes, such as digestion, healing a wound, and fighting infection on hold for a few moments, a "fight or flight" response. This can be when you need to make a split second decision to save your life. Animals running from predators is an example of short term stressors where the body returns to its normal conditions after the response is initiated. A long term stressor is a chronic condition where the body is constantly under stress, usually psychological stress. Long term stress is dangerous to the body and can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems, ulcers, and premature death. The immune system is also compromised because of chronic stress and can lead to increased risk of infection.
There are many ways to reduce stress. These include deep breathing, relaxation, and mediation. For help with stress in school there are other strategies. Not that I am an expert in stress reduction (I have my fair share of school stress), but I have found some ways to reduce stress, at least for a little while.
1. Stay organized!- Knowing what you have to do helps the feeling of assignments and duties hanging over your head.
2. Relax, using deep breathing - as mentioned in the stress video we watched today, deep breathing can calm the body down and alleviate stress.
3. Have some fun- doing some school work before a fun day and some after makes you feel that you got something accomplished before something fun.
I have found these tips helpful but still have a long way to go! Stress is hard to get rid over, especially with finals week quickly approaching!

Student stressing image from http://www.cliving.org/stress%20control%20students.html

                                          Check out these stress reducing tips:
            http://www.totallystressedout.com/06-relaxation-01-exercises.html

Three Questions! (November 30)

Endocrine System- Next Week!

1. This past week I've been super busy. I studied like crazy for the Nervous System test and got a little behind in math because of that. Then I did a bunch of math to catch up and started writing a Frankenstein Essay and started studying for my French final. Very busy indeed. Apparently these next few weeks aren't going to be any better. But I have to admit I would be bored without things to do (but maybe not this many things). Then I went to a French Club luncheon and the campus cleanup.
2. I learned a lot about how the brain works from my studies. I also learned partial fractions, tabular method, and more U substitution in Calculus. I also learned we're covering four chapters in three weeks in anatomy.
3. Next week, I'm planning on doing the same thing as last week. We're starting Endocrine System in anatomy, which should be fun. I will have to study for a math test on Tuesday, though. I also want to start making sure I've got everything covered for finals week.

Endocrine System image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_system

Nervous System!

Parts of brain associated
with different senses

What does the brain do? That is the real question. It accomplishes so many things, it's hard to fathom. Your brain has a hard time figuring out what your brain does (ironic, right?). It is responsible for all of the motor responses to stimuli and has parts for speech, language recognition, smell, taste, and sight. Truly awesome. It tells everything in your body what do in a split second before it seems you have time to think, but your brain already noticed the stimulus, decided what to do, and responded to it. The brain does this via electrical impulses. Even though all of this information is known, scientist still have a lot to learn about the brain. They have learned most of what they know but studying brains that have gone wrong. By looking at the parts of the brain that have been affected by a disease, disorder, or damage, they can tell what the brain should be doing as opposed to what it is doing.
Cutting into a brain (as we did on Tuesday) all you see is bumps, ridges and white and gray matter. It doesn't seem like this matter can control everything you do, even involuntary functions like breathing, digestion, and pumping blood from the heart. That's what's so cool about it!
In the TED video, the neuroscientist, Dr. Taylor describes the events that unfolded after she had a stroke. She used to research mental illness, studying how cells and chemicals react in brains with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Then one morning she had a hemorrhage in her brain (a blood vessel exploded). Because of this she completely lost all control. She could not walk, talk, or remember everything from her past life. It's very interesting how one bursted blood vessel could affect all of this. This is in stark contrast to another part of the body. For example, in the arm, if a blood vessel were to burst, there would be pain, but it wouldn't lead to deterioration of function. The right and left hemispheres have different functions that map out every second of life by sensory information sucked in by the brain. The right hemisphere is very in the moment, like an adrenaline junkie. The left hemisphere is concerned with the past and future, thinking methodically and analytically. It organizes all of the obtained information into little filing cabinets and makes us individuals. The brain is an amazing, possibly the most amazing part of our body.

                        Check out this video, also from TED! It discusses the adolescent brain!
http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_jayne_blakemore_the_mysterious_workings_of_the_adolescent_brain.html

Senses image from http://www.brainwaves.com

Three Questions! (November 23)

Playdoh Brain Model

Here's another installment of the weekly three questions. This week is special though, it's Thanksgiving break.
1. This was a short but awesome week in Anatomy. We first got to play with Playdoh again, something I haven't done in ten years. The playdoh brain helped us identify the structures and was fun to make, I must admit. Then, on Tuesday, we dissected a real sheep's brain which was way more cool than the playdoh brain. It really didn't smell that bad. I also went to Phoenix for the break to attend a concert and football game (against my will).
2. Lately I've learned most parts of the brain and the different functional areas. I've also learned how to do U substitution in calculus, and that Frankenstein's monsters isn't as bad as everyone thinks he is.
3. Next I plan to finish all the Nervous System coloring plates and finish reading Frankenstein. I also plan to get very familiar with the Nervous System for the test.

Playdoh Brain image from http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chmodel.html

Three Questions! (November 16)

Euler

1. Lately I have started the Nervous System in anatomy. I'm pretty excited that we get to dissect a sheep brain on tuesday! Also, I have started reading Frankenstein in english and took another test in calculus. I have a Phantom of the Opera concert friday and saturday night too. It's been pretty fun learning that music. The choir people are really awesome (shout out to Brad).
2. I learned a lot from the brain video we watched in anatomy. It was really interesting to see what happens if the brain is damaged. In math we're doing more integrals using things with slope fields and Euler's method. I also learned Euler's is pronounced Oiler's.
3. Next week I'm planning on working on the nervous system coloring plates and dissecting that brain! I'm also planning on taking a break from school during Thanksgiving Break (we're going to Phoenix).

Euler image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonhard_Euler

Neurophysiology Leech Lab

Leech opened
for dissection

The objective of this virtual neurophysiology lab was to record the electrical activity of individual neurons when mechanical stimulus is delivered through the skin of the leech. The we injected a fluorescent dye, called Lucifer Yellow, into the neurons the visualize their morphology.The cell was loacted  We identified the neurons based on their response to stimuli. First, we anesthetize the leeches so they won't move (not that they actually would in a virtual lab) and cut them open down the length of the leech. Then we carefully pinned the little guy down exposing its guts and connective tissue inward parts, we removed these parts, leaving the skin. The leech was put under the microscope and a segment was cut out to see the ganglia. Then we cut the sinus and used an electrode to locate a cell. A feather, probe and forceps were rubbed against the cell and the reaction (action potential) was measured. The three stimuli acted as light, medium, and strong stimuli. Lastly, we injected the fluorescent dye and viewed it under the UV light. With the UV light, the cell body, axons, and dendrites were visible.
The way that the cell reacted to the different stimuli demonstrated how there are different ways cells respond to levels of stimuli (light, medium, strong). The neurons can react differently because of their specific function or because of their environment. For example, neurons on your hand will react differently to neurons on your legs or face. Neuron classes are determined by their reaction to various stimuli.

Leech image from http://faculty.baruch.cuny.edu/jwahlert/bio1003/annelida.html
Giant Leeches image from http://philosophyofscienceportal.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html

Remote Controlling Life

This title may surprise you. Life is remote controlled only in science fiction! But sadly (or happily), you are mistaken. A scientist attached the motherboard of a remote controlled toy to a cockroach. He put the wires into the antennae of the cockroach and into its brain. So the Remote Controlled Cockroach was created. This can easily be seen as an ethical issue. Remote controlling life seems sort of wrong, but it doesn't seem so bad with an insect. But what about with a rabbit, a dog, or a human? Most people would immediately be repulsed at the idea of sticking a wire in someone's brain and sending electrical signals through them so that they can be controlled by a joystick. 

Man remote controlling another
person (Kind of looks like Mr. Gaume,
does it not?)

Before anyone goes rejecting or embracing an idea, we must think of the positive and negative aspects of such a thought. On the positive side, people that have been paralyzed by some unfortunate event could again walk. If this works, could the blind be coaxed to see again? Could the mute speak again? If an electrical signal can somehow bypass the damage inflicted upon the brain/ nerves during an accident, couldn't it stimulate a part that has been damaged, such as the visual cortex? Such ideas are fantastic if they did work, and were only used for ethical purposes? But what is ethicsAccording to Webster's Dictionary, ethics is "a set of moral principles". Most people would agree that certain things are right or wrong, and remote controlling a human being is one of those things. The negative side to this is as stated, the ethical implications. People controlling other people against their will is a frightening idea. The question is "who would decide who is remote controlled, who would have the ultimate power?". Power over life. In my opinion, this power shouldn't be designated to any human. 
In conclusion, this experiment was neat, and there will be a constant struggle over whether it is ethical. This could revolutionize science or maybe start a revolution. There is no clear cut answer and there will never be? 

Man remote controlling image from http://www.leadership-toolbox.com/autocratic-leadership.html
Video link from http://virtualgardnerblogs.weebly.com/anatomy--physiology.html

Three Questions! (November 9)

1. This week we finished the Muscular System in anatomy! All of the blogs, glogs, packets, and test are finally done! Such a relief! I also covered more about Integrals in Calculus and started reading Frankenstein in English.

Nervous System next week!

2. I have to admit I've learned a ton of stuff in anatomy while studying the muscular system. The physiology of a contraction is just amazing, and I think I've got origin and insertion down (even if all the thigh muscles seem to have the same ones). I also learned a lot in French this week. I'm getting much better at writing paragraphs.
3. Next week I need to finish and turn in my Macbeth essay. We're also starting the next system in anatomy, the nervous system I believe. I'm pretty excited about this one. There will undoubtedly be more glogs, blogs, and packets...again.

Nervous System image from http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/nervoussystem/menu/menu.html