20 Time Final Post

Above is the 20 Time presentation me and my partner Ashkan gave today during Anatomy/Physiology class. Overall, I believe our TED Talk went relatively well in the fact that not only we met the requirements, but we also connected with the audience. We presented a lesson that many students throughout the world do not have the same benefits as we do in Saratoga when it comes to technology, and every little bit we do to aid other student's education not only helps them, but helps the world in being more educated and articulate. I also believed that our presentation had a clear layout on what we wanted to accomplish and how we accomplished it. However, no presentation is perfect, including ours. If I could have changed something differently in the presentation, it would be to stop saying "uh" almost every other sentence as it makes me look clueless when presenting. This has always been a bad habit for me when giving public presentations, which is something I plan to improve on before college begins. Also in our presentation we did not have a Works Cited since we believed we did not need one since we were building something rather than giving an educational lesson on the topic. Based off the rubric, I would give our presentation at least a 70 since we were extremely articulate and connected to the audience, but not a full score since we did not include sources (even though we believed we did not need one since our presentation was not about educating the audience, but displaying what we built and how we did it). I felt we were well prepared for the presentation, as we did not do it last minute and ran through rehearsals countless times to the point where we could memorize our whole presentation from start to finish. As for giving the talk, although I felt we did quite well, it was still nerve-wrecking having to present to the whole class, especially with other great presentations being displayed around the same day too. I have grown from this project as to realize the computer field is not for me, which is great because I get to narrow down my career choices. Additionally, my official takeaway from this project is that we all must do what we can to help others receive the same educational opportunities as us, granted that they display rigorous academics and extracurriculars too. In the end, we not only explored our personal interests, we were able to provide great opportunities to an individual who took academics seriously, and not only help aid his future, but the future of his family and generations to come too.

River Clean Up Service Project

On Saturday, me and some fellow classmates traveled to the Calabazas creek in San Jose to participate in the annual river clean up. We were given two bags, one for recyclables and one for trash. However, the creek had a rarity of recyclable bottles and cans but was extremely abundant in trash. The most notable of this trash was food items such as chip bags, and plastic bags too. What I also found from the creek were multiple baseballs, which makes sense since the creek is right next to the Westmont High School baseball field. Afterwards, we dumped all the garbage bags onto one of the supervisor's truck, and then had popsicles and water after. Overall, it was a great experience to help the community and environment, especially for today when the environment is overlooked and undervalued.

Unit 8 Reflection

In this unit, we learned about the muscular system and the everyday role they play in our lives that allow us to function as human beings. One of themes of the unit were what are the major muscles of the body and what purpose do they serve. Instead of learning this through notes however, I instead learned it through our chicken lab dissection. The main muscles in the chest are the pectoralis major and minor, which aid humans in bench press and supports the arms. The trapezius muscle in the back helps support posture while the latissimus dorsi helps move the arms in multiple, fluid directions. The deltoids help raise and support the upper arms while the biceps brachii bends and flexes the arm. The triceps humeralis supports the lower arm and helps position the arm into normal position. The flexor carpi ulnaris provides movement to the hand and wrist while the brachiordialis flexes the forearm through the elbow and pronates and supinates the arm. The sartorius is an important flexor and rotator of the hip joint while the iliotibialis extends, abducts, and laterally rotates the hip. The biceps femurs helps flex the knee. The semimembranosus enables the leg to flex and rotate while the semitendinosus helps medially rotate the femur and tibia when the knee is extended. The quadriceps femoris flexes the thegh and helps with leg extensions while the gastrocnemius helps extend the foot and aids us on standing on our toes. Lastly, the peroneous longus extends the foot while the tibialis anterior flexes the foot and causes “shin splints”. Movement of the limbs through synovial joints were also incorporated into the unit. Skeletal muscles work in opposing pairs, known as flexors and extensors, to produce multiple types of movement. Muscles are organized through their name with factors such as direction, size, action, and number of origins, and location. Muscles are also classified through four terms: Prime Mover, Antagonist, Synergist, and Fixators. Prime movers cause a desired action such as elbow flexion while antagonist relaxes when prime mover contracts. Synergist muscles help the prime mover by reducing unnecessary movements while fixators stabilize the origin of the prime mover and can immobilize the bone. Muscles work based on whether they can contract or not. For a muscle to contract, nerve sends impulse to the muscle fiber, where Ca2+ ions are released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum into the cytoplasm. From there, Ca2+ binds to proteins wrapped around actin filaments. The binding of Ca2+ causes myosin filaments to bind to and pull on actin filaments. The sarcomere then shortens and the muscle begins to relax. As an impulse passes, Ca2+ gates close. As Ca2+ is transported back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum, the muscle relaxes. Another theme we learned was the facilitation of muscle fibers and how they respond to different types of exercise. These contractions play an important part when we stretch. There are three types of muscle fibers: Slow twitch, Fast twitch(a), and Fast twitch(b). Slow twitch fibers contract relatively slowly and are highly aerobic. FT(a) fibers are fast in contractile speed, moderately high oxidative capacity, and relatively fatigue resistant. FT(b) fibers are anaerobic, fatigue quickly, and have high glycogen stores. Slow twitch fibers and FT(a) fibers are usually involved in repetitive and long distance exercises while FT(b) fibers are involved in short exercises such as sprints and max repetition.    

I would have liked to learn about performance enhancing drugs such as HGH or other steroids and their negative impacts to the human body. I would have also liked to learn a little more about protein shakes and if they really do work or are just a waste of money and resources. Before the unit started, I only knew basic muscles that we use to lift weights. After this unit and the chicken dissection, I am glad to say I know more complex and intricate muscles and how they actually work instead of just basic muscles. 

My New Years Goals have been in a constant roller coaster this year. While my weightlifting habits have been fine and I have been achieving the goals I desired ( I currently passed 215 pounds), my grades have received a sudden shift. My goal for this year was to achieve an A in this class, but due to a zero on a lab that goal seemed impossible. However, with the new extra credit opportunity with cleaning up the creek, an A now seems reachable. If I can perform well on my cat dissection and my 20 time project, and volunteer at the creek, I can receive that A. Not only will this achieve my goal, but it will also cut my college tuition in half, which I am desperate for as I will be paying for college by myself without my parents. Either way, at the end of the day, I need an A in this class, and I believe in myself that I WILL get an A in this class. 

What Happens When You Stretch

One sentence I found interesting was, " Once the muscle fiber is at its maximum resting length, additional stretching places force on the surrounding connective tissue." I find it intriguing that by stretching, the force exerts itself on surrounding tissue. This is what allows us to be more flexible and avoid injury. Another sentence I found interesting was about "stretch reflex". As stated, " This basic function of the muscle spindle helps to maintain muscle tone and to protect the body from injury." I always thought that muscle tone was developed through weightlifting and exercise. However, I would have never thought that we could be able to maintain muscle tone through stretching, since the whole stereotype of stretching is that it only prevents injuries. The last quote I found interesting was, " This is the dynamic component of the stretch reflex: a strong signal to contract at the onset of a rapid increase in muscle length, followed by slightly 'higher than normal' signaling which gradually decreases as the rate of change of the muscle length decreases." I found this interesting as it shows how our muscles mirror our bodies' contraction. The increase in contraction is due to the higher than normal signaling, and the vice versa for decreasing contraction. The article starts off by claiming that the stretching of a muscle fiber begins with the sarcomere, the basic unit of muscle contraction. The more fibers stretched within a muscle, the more force exerted to the surrounding tissue. This allows the surrounding tissue to expand in length and me more developed. The nerve endings that relay information is known as proprioceptors, while the source of the nervous system is known as proprioception. Sometimes when we stretch, the muscle attempts to resist the change in muscle length by causing it contract, known as the stretch reflex. Many professional athletes and dancers have been able to master the art of stretch reflex, keeping them athletically physical and mental.

More Effective Joint

   I decided to do my design on plantar fasciitis as it is an injury that affects me and my family line every generation. Although I already had a basic idea of what plantar fasciitis is, I first decided to begin my research by researching the basics of the injury, such as how it is defined and what causes the injury. I then decided to work backwards by researching the injuries of plantar fasciitis, and what modifications are needed to prevent such injuries. I decided to connect my knowledge from units before such as blood supply and apply it to the new modifications of the plantar fascia. After realizing that we cannot modify our bodies, I did extensive research on preventing such injuries to live a happy and healthy life.
   Plantar fasciitis usually occurs to people with flat feet, but can also occur to runners and obese people. It is involved with the plantar fascia, a thick band of tissue which is a ligament, that runs across the foot and is connected to the calcaneus (heel bone). To fix the problem of plantar fasciitis, I decided to remodel the ligament that is the main cause of the injury, the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia stretches from the medial calcaneal tubercle towards the proximal phalanges of the toes. The fibrous tissue then divides into five sections to accommodate for the five toes we humans have on each foot. The main function of the plantar fascia is to help maintain the arch of the foot. During athletic activities such as walking or running, the main contribution of the plantar fascia is to assure that both the heel and toes lift off the ground and prevent the calcaneus from everting, stabilizing the arch in the process. As mentioned before, the plantar fascia is heavily involved in basic activities such as walking, running, and standing. These activities however, can create tiny micro tears to the plantar fascia, and as a result cause inflammation of the ligament. These injuries are proven common to runners who strain their plantar fascia due to the consistent pressure, overweight people as the weight forces the arch of the foot to collapse, and flat-footed people as they have no support, causing the plantar fascia to be in constant contact and pressure on the ground. When designing a new feature to the plantar fascia, I decided that if there were more blood vessels added to the ligament, this would provide enough oxygen and nutrients that it would prevent micro tears from occurring in the plantar fascia. Another design feature to prevent the injury would be connecting the plantar fascia to the achilles tendon, allowing a supportive system from the leg and having the ligament react the same to stimulants as the achilles tendon. Young people already have their plantar fascia connected to their achilles tendon, but as we age the connective tissue between the two degenerate and become their own muscles. I arrived at this idea knowing that blood in our body is the number one source of providing nutrients and oxygen to the body. If we could increase the capacity of blood volume being transported to stressed areas, such as in the plantar fascia, we can prevent them from tearing and inflaming which can cause injury. As for connecting the plantar fascia to the achilles tendon, we already have this as a feature while we're young. However, as aging occurs the tissue degenerates as I have said before. If there were a way to prevent connective tissue from being destroyed as we age, we could be able to provide a supporting system to the plantar fascia from the leg. One problem with this new design however is that the connective tissue between the plantar fascia and the achilles tendon would make the foot uneven in balance, and as a result put more strain and stress on other parts of the foot other than the arch. After completing this assignment, I question whether it is possible to perform such new designs on the human body to prevent these injuries or diseases. Although the designs seem as if they are out of a science fiction piece, I truly wonder if it is possible that scientists can control human evolution to specifically cater towards these injuries. Or would our bodies eventually realize these injuries directly affecting the human body, and would they attempt to evolve over time instead of artificial evolution? Since we can not redesign our body instantly to prevent such injuries, we have to take cautionary measures to assure that no such injuries occur so that we may lead a happy, healthy life. One way to prevent plantar fasciitis is to utilize heel cord stretching, which would unload stress in the foot and reduce pain. This would stretch the fascia directly, strengthening it from future tears. Losing weight would also exert less pressure on the arch, allowing it to be supported rather than collapsed. Wearing shoes with great arch support and cushioning can also prevent plantar fasciitis as it alleviates stress and pain on the foot. Wearing night splints, which are casts around the ankle to the toes, are effective in reforming the foot to be away from chronic pain. Foot orthotics, which you can buy over the counter or prescribed from your doctor, can help reshape feet to be arched instead of flat, which would reduce stress on the plantar fascia.  

Note: Highlighted parts indicate modifications

Works Cited: 

http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/plantar_fasciitis

http://www.wesnorman.com/soleoffoot.htm

https://patient.info/health/heel-and-foot-pain-plantar-fasciitis

Tortora, Gerald J., and Bryan Derrickson. The Essentials of Anatomy and      Physiology. 

    

Chicken Dissection Analysis

In this lab, we dissected a chicken to compare it's muscles anatomy and physiology to that of a human. We first had to remove the skin of the chicken using scissors, while carefully avoiding to cut any muscles. After removing the skin, we dissected the breast, back, arms, and legs of the chicken to observe their muscles' similarities and differences from humans. After careful cutting, we were able to observe certain muscles of the chicken similar to humans. The muscles purpose in organisms is to provide movement since it has the ability to contract and release, unlike other tissues. Muscles can also help provide maintenance of body structure and position. Bones also help serve this purpose too, as they assist in structuring our limbs and body's shape. Tendons are muscles connecting to bones, and are capable of withstanding external pressure. An example would be the supinator tendon, which helps bend the elbow and rotate the forearm. For the bone, we have our femur, which provides shape and structure to our legs. As for muscles, our hamstrings prove critical when it comes to our basic ability of walking. In each muscle, there are two ends that help it contract, the origin end and the insertion end. The origin of the muscle is a fixed attachment that cannot move, while the insertion end is able to move through contraction. When a muscle is contracted, the insertion end is moved towards the origin end. The insertion end usually runs along the muscle while the origin is at one end of the muscle.

Both the chicken and human have similar yet quite different muscle anatomy and physiology. The pectoralis major in chickens help them gain the ability to fly, while in humans it helps us bench press and do push ups. Biceps brachii in humans help us flex and bend our arm through the elbow. In chickens, the biceps brachii helps chickens bend and flex their wings to assist in flight and their basic nature. The trapezius in humans help move the scapulae and support the arm, along with providing posture. In chickens, the trapezius helps raise their wings while providing support for their posture.

The following are muscles that we observed and dissected:

Pectoralis major: supports wings during flight
Pectoralis minor: provides recovery position after flight
Trapezius: Supports back posture and helps raise wings
Latissimus Dorsi: runs from spine through side of back, helps move wings in multiple directions instead of one direction
Deltoid: helps raise wing and supports upper arm
Biceps Brachii: bends and flexes wings
Triceps humeralis: Supports lower wing, helps position wing into normal position
Flexor Carpi Ulnaris: Provides movement to hand and wrist
Brachiordialis: flexes forearm through elbow, responsible for supination and pronation
Sartorius: Important flexor and rotator of thigh through the hip joint
Iliotibialis: extends, abducts, and laterally rotate the hip
Biceps femoris: helps flex the knee
Semimembranosus: enables leg to flex and rotate, serves as a thigh extensor
Semitendinosus: helps medially rotate the femur and tibia when knee is extended
Quadriceps femoris: flexes the thigh and extends the leg, helps with leg extensions
Gastrocnemius: helps extend foot and flexes lower leg, primary muscle used for standing on your toes
Peroneous longus: primary superficial muscle on lateral side of drumstick, helps extend foot
Tibialis anterior: flexes the foot, causes the painful injury known as "shin splints"

Thigh

Blue- Sartorius

Black- Iliotibialis

Yellow- Biceps femoris

Green- Semimembranosus

White- Semitendinosus

Red- Quadriceps femoris

Breast

Yellow- Pectoralis Major

White- Pectoralis Minor

 

Drumstick

Blue- Gastrocnemius

Black- Peroneous longus

Yellow-Tibialis anterior

Red- Quadriceps femoris

Wing

White- biceps brachii

Green- triceps humeralis

Blue- deltoid

Black- Flexor carpi ulnaris

Green- Brachioradialis

Back

Yellow- Trapezius

Green- Latissimus dorsi

Unit 7 Reflection

In Unit 7, we studied the anatomy and physiology of the bones in the human body. We first studied about diseases that affect the skeletal system such as arthritis, the inflammation of joints, which has affected my family in the past. Osteoporosis is when the bones lose calcium and become more porous and easier to break down, while scoliosis is when the spine is not aligned straight. A pattern I noticed from these diseases is that they affect bones through either inflammation, breaking them down due to poor nutrition, or are misaligned. In order to prevent such diseases from occurring, it is critical to have a balanced intake of vitamins and minerals. Vitamins C and D helps the bone become stronger while protecting it’s marrow. Minerals such as calcium helps produces calcitonin, a hormone that develops and matures the bone in order for it to not break in the future. Bones are extremely important when it comes to maintaining homeostasis, as they regulate blood flow through the Haversian system along with regulating metabolism and temperature. Cells play a huge role when it comes to the development of bones too. Osteoblasts are cells that create new and stronger bones, while osteoclasts are cells that destroy bone and pave way for new and stronger ones to be created. Sadly, accidents are bound to happen to our bodies wherever we are, bones included. There are many types of fractures, the most common being complete, where the bone snaps into two or more parts, or incomplete, where the bone doesn't break all the way through. Bones are usually repaired first by blood clotting where the fracture is located. As the blood dries, fibroblasts are formed, and solidify the clot to form new bone to replace the fracture. Lastly, we learned about joints in the human body and how they’re connected to our bones (quite literally). Synovial joints are completely moveable, and include our elbows and shoulders. Ampiarthrosis joints are slightly moveable, and include joints such as our vertebrae. Lastly are diarthrosis joints, which are not moveable and include joints such as sutures in our skulls. Most of these joints are usually fibrous, while we do have some that are cartilage such as our knee. In this study, I was hoping to learn about more hormones that are involved with our bones’ development and maturity. As a student, I feel that my study of the bones had blossomed when we studied the owl pellet lab, and compared bones from organisms that are quite similar to humans. I also feel that bone bingo had helped me better classify and identify bones in the body. As of my New Year’s goals, they have taken quite a hit. While my lifting goals have been on track, I have gained about twenty-five pounds of muscle, and moved from 190 to 215 pounds. My grade in Anatomy however has taken a deep hit due to the reflex lab being graded as a zero, even though I turned it in a day late. As of now, the best I can do is continue on and power throughout the school year and not be rescinded from my colleges, and graduate knowing I will attend a university soon.

Owl Pellet Lab Analysis

In this lab, we dissected an owl pellet and observed the bones of a mysterious organism. We first started the dissection off by weighing how much the pellet weighed, which for ours was around 5.41 grams. We then measured the pellet, which was 2.9 centimeters wide by 4.1 centimeters long. We then used a probe to pick apart the pellet, while using tweezers to hold the pellet still. The pellet mainly consisted of feathers and fur. However, we also discovered the bones of what we believed to be a vole, based on the comparisons of the bones structure to that of the owl pellet handbook.

Our first evidence to support this claim is the size of the mandible we discovered from the pellet. According to the owl pellet handbook, the size of the mandible for a vole is about 20 millimeters, or around 2 centimeters. As you can see in the photo below, the mandible we discovered is around 2 centimeters too.

Our second piece of evidence to share is the shape of the skull we discovered in the pellet too. Despite the skull not being longer than the mandible, it still had some noteworthy features with it's shape similar to the vole from the handbook. As you can see in the photo below, the teeth of the skull are more sharper and pointier. We can also observe that the eye sockets (which were thickly filled with pellet remains) are oval shaped, similar to that of the vole from the handbook. 

Our last piece of evidence to present is the humerus that we believe are part of the vole. As you can see in the photo below, we believe we found two humerus' based on the bone indentations. As you can see on both ends, the bones are round and indented at each end. In the middle of the bones are minor indentations, similar to that of the illustration in the owl pellet handbook. 

In many ways, the bones of various organisms throughout the world are similar to that of humans. In this case, voles have very similar distinctions to human skeletons along with differences in the skeletal system. One similarity between a vole skull and the human skull is the mandible, as they hinge to the skull and open up and down just like human jaws. The jaw of the vole also has teeth used to aid in digestion, similar to us humans with our incisors and canines as teeth. Another comparing similarity to draw is the upper leg of the vole is similar in shape to the humerus of the human skeleton, as they both have sockets that hinge onto along with bone indentations at each end and in the middle.

Some notable differences however is the space between the jaw and teeth, as the teeth for humans is at the very front while the teeth for vole are closer to the middle. Another comparing difference is the shape of the eye sockets, as the voles' eye socket is shaped like an oval while a human eye socket is shaped more circular. Another notable difference is the shape of the skull, as the human skull is longer than it is wide, while the vole skull is wider than it is long.

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Unit 6 Reflection

Unit 6 was centralized around the nervous system, along with it's physiology and how it communicates with the body. The main themes in this unit were how do different senses react to a certain environment and how does the body communicate with itself. We first learned about sensation vs. perception, where the brain interprets messages through perception while sensation is where we receive input from our environment. We also have different receptors that interpret our environment: thermoreceptors (temperature), Pain receptors, Photoreceptors (eyes), Chemoreceptors (chemicals), and mechanoreceptors (movement). We learned about these receptors during our reflex lab, in which we tested common reflexes in the human body. For example, our photoreceptors were used when testing our photopupilary reflex, or when our eye is exposed to light after a while in the dark. These reflexes are made possible due to neurons, which send electrical impulses through their myelin sheaths that communicate to the body what to do. One of the first readings in the chapter was the "How to Become a "Superager", in which the article talked about how vigorous mental and physical exercises can have 60+ year olds be just as smart as their 20 year old counterparts. Our second reading was the "Fit Body, Fit Brain", in which the article discussed that any type of exercise can add unused neurons to the brain and sharpens thinking skill. Exercising can also reduce their telomere reductions, preventing neurological diseases too. Our last reading was the "How to Get Addicted" reading, where the article discusses how addiction is in fact a neurological disease such as obesity, as the brain is wired to eat instead of being normal. One of the main readings in the unit was the "Women Perpetually Falling", as it talked about future cures for paralysis and diseases involving the brain and spinal cord. My main strength in the unit was knowing the difference between perception and sensation, as the two are greatly different but can sometimes be confused. My other greatest strength was knowing which type of receptors belonged to which organ or sense. However, my main weakness was the physiology of a neuron, as I am puzzled about how it can communicate messages instantly throughout the body. I would like to learn more about different reflexes in the body, since I find it appealing that these reflexes naturally occur in our body. I would also like to learn more about how the brain matures as we get older too.
As of my New Year goals, I am currently failing one, getting an A in Anatomy and Physiology. My final grade comes out to about an 87.5 percent after all tests have been submitted. The tests have been a major reason as to why my grades have been getting lower. To resolve this, I plan to study more rigorously, and rematch past vodcasts to ace the next test. However, I am succeeding in my second new year goal, getting bigger in hopes of playing college football. I have recently been given a scholarship by Puget Sound to play defensive line in exchange of taking two years of tuition debt off my record. I have also noticed people complimenting me recently, saying I have been getting bigger and more built.

That is it as of now. Check back soon for future labs and updates!

Reflex Lab

In this lab, we tested multiple reflexes in the human body and our mechanorecptors too. In order to learn about this lab, we had to study the nervous system and it's anatomy and physiology. The main component of the nervous system is the neuron, a nerve cell that transmits nerve impulses throughout the body. Neurons help make our body mobile and agile, all due to the reflexes in our body. A reflex is a response to a stimulant, and is usually not forced, but rather a natural part of the body.
When shining a light into a closed iris hidden in the dark, we are testing the photo pupillary reflex. The iris widened when exposed to light, most likely due to the iris adjusting to the sudden light change in the eye. The second experiment dealt with the patellar reflex, just below the knee cap and is usually tested during a physical. The patellar reflex did occur since it was stimulated through a gentle tap into the kneecap. The third reflex tested was our blink reflex. We as humans tend to close our eyes when being subjected to pain. We threw a cotton ball at an invisible barrier, and both times tested we did blink. This most likely occurred since we naturally as humans close our eyes when we are about to experience pain. The fourth reflex tested was the plantar reflex. We stroked a pen down the sole of our feet, and our toes did flex. This occurred due to the high amount of neurons in our foot, and how sensitive our feet are. Lastly, we measured how fast we reacted by grabbing a dropping meter stick. We tested it twice, one normally and then one while texting. We found that during texting, our reaction time increased by around 0.15 seconds. This may seem like nothing, but if we were driving, we would increase our chance of colliding with another car. This is why we have at least a two second buffer when driving behind cars, since reactions usually occur in less than a second.

Not texting

Texting

Sheep Brain Dissection

In this dissection, we examined a sheep brain and how it's functions are quite similar to that of a human brain. We first started the dissection by tearing out some meninges from the brain, a protective, shiny membrane that protects the brain. This is where the term meningitis originates from, as the disease is diagnosed when the meninges are infected or inflamed. We then cut the brain in half through the corpus callosum, a bundle of fibers that connect the two hemispheres together, to observe the left and right hemispheres. We discovered parts of the brain such as the thalamus and the midbrain, along with other main parts of the deep brain that maintain homeostasis and control our hormones. We then cut the brain again horizontally to examine the gray and white matter deep inside the brain. We have learned of white matter before, as it protects the brain from cognitive diseases such as Alzheimers, and to preserve such matter, we need to exercise daily.

A picture of the brain with pins describing each part. The white pin represents the anterior side while the black pin represents the posterior side. The red pin represents the brain stem while the green pin represents the cerebellum. Lastly, the yellow pin represents the cerebrum of the brain.

The brain dissected vertically. The lower left pin represents the optic nerve while the other white pin represents the hypothalamus. The green pin represents the medulla oblongata while the blue pin represents the pons. The black pin represents the thalamus while the red pin represents the corpus callosum. Lastly, the yellow pin represents the whole midbrain.

Observing grey and white matter. You can see grey matter at the outer ridges while white matter fills in the inner portion of the brain.

Sheep Eye Dissection Analysis

Recently, we had dissected a sheep eye to learn about it's anatomical structures along with it's functions. The first step of the dissection was removing the fatty tissue and muscle surrounding the sclera. The muscle and fat tissues served as cushions for the eye in order for it to stay in place and not pop out the socket constantly. We also noticed this hard stem-like structure sticking out the back of the eye, determining it to be the optic nerve. The optic nerve transfers visuals from the eye to the brain for the brain's interpretation, making the eye part of the sensation group. The second step of the procedure was to cut the eyeball in half through the sclera to view the inner contents of the eye. Upon opening the eye, we discovered the cornea on one side of the hemisphere and the vitreous humor on the other. The cornea is the transparent outer layer at the front of the eye, whose job is to focus the entry of light into the eye. The vitreous humor was a clear, gelatin-like substance that filled the eye to help maintain it's shape so that the eye would not be deflated. Upon closer inspection, we found the retina on the opposite hemisphere of the vitreous humor. The retina is greatly important to the eye since it sorts all neural images our eyes absorb so that they can be interpreted easily by the brain. after removing the vitreous humor from the eye, we discovered the lens. The purpose of the lens is to adjust focus according to our environment so that we can see clearly. Without the lens, our vision would be blurry and we would technically be blind. This lab helped opened my eyes (pun intended) on how little we take our eye for granted, when it provides us with the greatest natural gift of them all: vision.  

Nervous System Power Hour Reading

Rewire Your Brain

Preface and Firing the Right Cells Together

During my power hour reading, I read Rewire Your Brain by John B. Arden, Ph.D. I had read both the Preface of the book and the first chapter, "Firing the Right Cells Together". The preface starts off by stating the concepts of the brain such as neuroplasticity are dramatically evolving each day as we learn more about it. The preface also introduces all the chapters and their subjects, and the one that caught my eye the most was the first chapter, where the concept of neuroplasticity has altered, and how the brain can form and kill both good and bad habits. The author introduces us to an unpopular opinion in the first chapter, that the brain is not "hard-wired" but rather "soft-wired" by experience. It is popular opinion to believe genetics play a role in your brain's development (which they still do), but that genes do not influence our thoughts or feelings. Both thoughts and feelings are actually developed through the subject of nurture vs. nature. The traits develop based off how well we are taken care of as adolescents and the type of environment we mature in. However, the author introduces a new theory, "nurtured nature", in which both nurture and nature correlate with each other rather than against each other. Arden then introduces us to the three cortexes that have the highest influence on us as we develop: prefrontal cortex (PFC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and the orbital frontal cortex (OFC). The PFC allows us to act based off a moral system, the DLPFC is involved in critical thinking, attention span, and short term memory, and the OFC helps process emotions in the brain. Lastly, the author introduces the reader to FEED, which supposedly helps rewire the brain. F stands for focus, where we must pay attention to our behavior or memory if we want to reenact it next time. E stands for effort, where we shift our perception to action. E stands for effortlessness, where new behaviors or thoughts take less time and energy to keep it running. Finally there is D, determination, which helps the brain stay in practice. One question I would have for the author is that are there any other methods to rewiring our brain besides FEED, and how? My other question would be why is the corpsus callosum, which connects both hemispheres in the brain and keep the cortexes intact, is bigger in females than it is in males?

The Clay Brain

The first view I worked on was the left hemisphere via the saggital plane. What I did was establish a base of the whole brain and the stem, and then added and connected parts throughout the brain. However, due to limited time and lack of help from my partner, the same could not be said about the right hemisphere. Instead, I was rushed with little class time to add all the parts without the base, which is why it looks sloppy and beaten compared to the left hemisphere. Ashkan, my partner, did not even label any of the parts until the very last minutes of class, which by then it was too late. We then had to compromise and label the most important parts of the brain after class since the substitute had to leave soon. The results are displayed below. 

The left hemisphere from the view of the saggital plane

The right hemisphere from the view of the saggital plane

 

A Woman Perpetually Falling...

One quote I found interesting in the reading was, "The first time they tried the hat, Cheryl wore it for only a minute. They noticed that after she took it off, there was a "residual effect"." Basically, the longer Cheryl wore the device, the more time she had being independent due to the "residual effect". Another quote I found interesting was, "If certain key pathways are blocked, then the brain uses older pathways to go around them... These "secondary" neural pathways are "unmasked", or exposed, and, with use, strengthened." I found it interesting since there are hidden pathways in our brain that has never been used before, and if we ever damage our brain, it can find alternate neurological pathways to cure paralysis. The last quote I found interesting was, "But our brains also restructure themselves in response to input from the simplest tools too, such as a blind man's cane." Our brain is a natural cyborg, and can adapt to any disease or paralysis with proper training. The article starts off by following Cheryl Schiltz, who's whole vestibular apparatus is non-functional. She then tries on a machine by Mr. Bach-y-Rata that sends electrical signals through her tongue that stimulates the brain. The longer she wears it, the more independent time she has where she can walk normally. I have heard before that electrical stimulation can give functions back to body parts, but not a whole system in general. The machine allows Cheryl independence since it finds alternate, nervous pathways in the brain that has never been trained before. This allows the brain to adapt to it's environment and train the body again for movement. Cheryl can now remain independent for months just by wearing the machine for a couple days, and since then others have begun to rehabilitate their bodies from paralysis to full function.  

The Woman With a Hole in Her Brain

The article claims that a 24 year old woman had been able survive without her cerebellum.  The discovery was made when the woman was admitted into a Chinese hospital with a chronic headache, and further CAT scans showed that cerebrospinal fluid had built up in the area where the cerebellum is. The cerebellum plays a key role in control voluntary movements and actions. A damaged cerebellum for a human can result in mental impairment, motor deficiency, and mild speech problems. The women joins just nine people in the world to survive without the cerebellum, while most missing the cerebellum occasionally die at a young age.

What Happens if You Are Missing Your Frontal Lobe?

There have been numerous cases of people living despite frontal lobe trauma, the most notable being the 1800's miner Phineas Cage, who survived a metal rod blowing straight through his skull and obliterating his whole frontal lobe. Without the frontal lobe, most human subjects prove to be socially awkward or inept. They can have frequent mood swings and be easily irritated, even of events that do not affect them. Frontal lobe trauma victims are also noted to be unmotivated and lack inhibition to complete tasks. A worst case scenario for frontal lobe trauma victims is that they become completely paralyzed, as their motor cortex in both hemispheres are damaged. Despite these limiting factors, humans can indeed live without their frontal lobe, but such limits restrict victims from fully living life. 

Unit 5 Reflection

  In Unit 5, we explored the digestive system, the endocrine system, and the lymphatic system. The main theme I garnered while studying the digestive system is how does the body use certain molecules and chemical pathways to meet its energy demands. For our digestion system, our body uses fuel metabolism to meet it's energy demands. To accomplish this, our body uses the three stages of energy extraction to retain these nutrients. Macromolecules are transformed into complex forms in stage I, which then the complex forms are converted into AcetylCoA. ATP is then generated from AcetylCoA, which fuels the body. When the body begins to run low on fuel, the pancreas releases glucagons for the body to eat more and retain more nutrients. The main theme I learned while studying the endocrine system is that the glands use various hormones to control various activities. There are two types of hormones are glands secrete: Steroid- which are lipid soluble and diffuse through cell membranes- and Nonsteroid- which are not lipid soluble and received by receptors external to the cell membrane. Hormones use the "Lock and Key" approach when interacting with specific receptors, as each hormone has it's own unique receptor. Our body secretes hormones through negative feedback, which helps the endocrine system maintain homeostasis and secrete certain hormones based o physiological changes. Negative feedback also reflects off diabetes too. Since the body is producing too little insulin, diabetic patients inject insulin in themselves so that the body and endocrine system can utilize the hormone to control hunger from the negative feedback. Lastly, the lymphatic system. We learned that the lymphatic system plays a huge part in our immunity, lipid absorption, and fluid recovery. The main purpose of the lymphatic system is circulation and immunity, as lymphocytes absorb plasma proteins and fluid from tissues, and bring it back to our bloodstream. Lymphocytes also help with immunity, as they produce T-cells- helps with cellular immunity-, B-cells- humoral immunity-, and NK cells- immunological surveillance.
In this unit, I believed my main strength was the endocrine system, as I have explored the system before and even learned about some hormones such as HGH, testoserone, and estrogen. However, my main weakness was the digestion system and lymphatic system since I had not studied it as much as the endocrine system, and as I am still confused on what the lymphatic system is. My biggest setback this unit was the temp check, which was mainly based around the digestion system. I only got one question right, which means I should emphasize studying the digestion system more to understand it for the test.
  The only lab we did throughout the entire unit was the digestion lab. What I learned from this lab is that our digestive lab is quite larger and longer than the human body. For me, my digestive tract is 5.4 meters, about thrice as long as my body. We also read the Does Your Metabolism Need an Overhaul  article, where I learned that weight training actually boosts our metabolism, not cardio exercises.
  Throughout the unit, the study that had brought the most interest to me was the endocrine system. This system had brought interest into me since I am a teenager, and the system is at it's peak when it comes to producing hormones. What I always wondered about is how we can prevent certain secretions of hormones, and regulate certain secretions of hormones. Can we as humans control these secretions, or will our body always be able to control and secrete hormones whenever it wants. Only time and evolution can answer such a unique question.
  My goals from the New Year have steadily been gaining traction. I continue to lift about six times a week, although instead of doing two hours of moderate intensity exercises, I do one hour of high intensity exercises. I manage to get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep, but I have now decided that I need more sleep since I still feel drowsy throughout the day, so I am now aiming for nine hours. My diet now includes more protein and legumes, although I still end up with carbohydrates in my meals still. As for homework, I cannot find time to complete it due to classes and social life, so I still end up doing my homework after school. However, if I can procrastinate less, than it would not serve a problem for me.
  My other goal for this year was to ace Anatomy. However, a huge setback has been presented, I failed my temp check. This would most likely bring my grade down to a C, so I will now have to emphasize more on studying for the class. I have yet to take more detailed notes or apply them to the outside world, so perhaps if I accomplish these they would serve as a solution for future tests. As for now, I will have to rely on my knowledge and less procrastination to survive in Anatomy and graduate my way to university.
     

Digestive Lab

1. In this lab, we connected exact measurements of colorful string to represent our digestive tracts. My main takeaway from the activity is that the digestive system is much longer than our own bodies, but not larger than our body size.

2. My digestive system is about twice as long as my actual height, precisely being 1.8 meters. My digestive system is able to fit in my body since the organs are hollow and lap over each other instead of being a straight line.

3. I hypothesize that it takes on average four hours for food to move through the entire digestive system. According to Maya Clinic, it takes about fifty three hours for food to fully pass through our system. However, some factors that can influence time may include food poisoning, fiber intake, and physical activity.

4. Digestion is involved in breaking down food, which would include the mouth, esophagus, and stomach, and some parts of the small intestine, which are all organs of the GI tract. Absorption is the removal of nutrients to supply the body, which involves the small and large intestine of the GI tract.

5.  How long does it take to be cured from digestive diseases such as food poisioning? How can we prevent such diseases?

SMART Goals

One of my SMART goals is to still maintain an A in Anatomy and Physiology despite being a second semester senior. To accomplish this, it will all start from my attention span in the classroom. The first step is to take better notes, which can include more detailed, word for word notes, along with illustrations, graphics, and improved reflections including more vocabulary. Then, I must apply these notes to my homework, along with the outside world. By using my notes for homework as well as conducting my own research based on subjects I'm interested in, it will allow me to be more involved in the class. I will also need to follow this with at least 8 hours of sleep per night to stay focused during class. Lastly, I will need to perform well on tests, which will be reflections on how well I performed on the previous steps. If I follow these steps with my greatest effort, I will attain an A in no time.

My action plan is:

• Take better, detailed, illustrated notes
• Apply notes to homework and outside world
• Get at least eight hours of sleep a night
• Perform well on tests
• Ace Anatomy

My second SMART goal is to get bigger in hopes that I can play college football. To accomplish this goal, I will need attend the weight room more often, along with keeping track of my diet and sleep habits. It all starts with lifting, in which I will need to lift six times a week, each day altering between different muscle groups (upper body, legs, core, etc). With every workout however, comes a nutrient-dense meal. Each day, I will cut less carbohydrates from my diet and increase my protein intake (1 gram per 1 pound= 200 grams of protein per day). Of course my meals cannot only be meat, as I will have to include legumes, vegetables, and fruit for a healthy diet. In order to rest my body for future workouts, I will need to rely on sleep. However, obtaining at least eight hours of sleep in Saratoga can prove quite difficult, so I will have to complete homework during school and study after school. Unlike my last goal, there will actually be a small time deadline to follow, about six months when season training for college football begins. If I can follow my strict schedule, I can build at least enough size to have coaches consider me possibly.

My action plan is as follows:

• Lift six days a week, at least two hours a day
• Eat more protein, cut carbohydrates, include legumes, vegetables, and fruits
• Get at least 8 hours of sleep per night
• Complete homework during school, study after school