How bats stay healthy
Check out this YouTube video that explains how bats stay healthy even when infected by viruses such as SARS and Covid. Despite the yuck factor, bats are very important in the ecosystem:
Archive for September 2021
Featuring: Michigan Physiological Society
This week, we are featuring the Michigan Physiological Society. This chapter of the American Physiological Society was established in 2013 and brings together physiologists from around the state of Michigan. Their annual meeting took place June 24-25, 2021, which included a keynote address from Dr. James Pawelczyk, an Associate Professor at Pennsylvania State University and former NASA astronaut. His talk was on the limits of human space exploration. Check it […]
How infections can change milk composition
Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are found on the outer cell membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. When these bacteria break down, the LPS can enter the body and cause inflammation and negatively impact health. They can also disrupt the blood-milk barrier and may alter the composition of milk. In a new study published in the American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, researchers wanted to know whether LPS could change the […]
Birds may stay warm with the help of red blood cells
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden were interested in understanding how birds adapted to cold weather. Birds can’t turn up the heat in their birdhouse, so it is important for them to find physiological ways to stay warm. While they can store body fat and grow more feathers for insulation, metabolism is the primary way endothermic animals create body heat. Mitochondria produce cellular energy (ATP) but can also create heat […]
Shape-shifting animals adapting to climate change
A recent review of the existing scientific literature found evidence suggesting that warm-blooded animals may be literally shape-shifting to adapt to climate changes. According to Allen’s rule, animals living in warmer climates have larger appendages than those living in cold climates, which helps increase the available surface area for heat loss to the environment. Such heat exchange mechanisms are very important in thermoregulation to avoid retaining excess heat. The authors […]
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 