The A&P Professor

Testing as a learning tool

2012-01-21T14:00:00.000-06:00

Almost two years ago, I published an article about testing as a method of teaching in my blog The Electronic Professor. In the article, I shared my experience in using frequent online tests in my anatomy & physiology courses as a way to get students engaged with the material on an ongoing basis.

Almost a year later, research published in Science further supported this idea. Not that I needed the support . . . my own experience over several years has confirmed for me that it works. In fact, it works VERY well in enhancing student learning. But as a scientist, a variety of independent confirmations of a topic is appreciated.

Of course, the concept of frequent, online formative testing (as opposed to summative testing) is not at all new. But like a lot of breakthroughs in teaching and learning, it hasn't caught on with many professors "out in the trenches" yet. But it's really worth taking a look at.

First, check out my article from 2009 to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Teaching as Testing
Kevin Patton
The Electronic Professor. 27 Feb 2009.
[Article outlining my use of online, randomized formative tests in teaching A&P.]
my-ap.us/p3rM6B

Then check out the seminar that I gave on this topic a few years ago.

Seminar: Testing as Teaching
Kevin Patton
The A&P Professor. Accessed Jan 2012.
[Narrated presentation outlining a method to produce randomzed formative tests for A&P.]
my-ap.us/qtAclX

After that, take a look at the research published in Science a year ago.

To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test
Pam Belluck
The New York Times. 20 January 2011.
[Brief summary of the research, including a graph of the results.]
my-ap.us/yP6jZ0

Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping
J.D. Karpicke, J. R. Blunt
Science. Published Online January 20 2011. DOI: 10.1126/science.1199327
[Original research mentioned above.]
my-ap.us/yTr2b7

Academic integrity in the A&P course

2012-01-07T14:00:00.000-06:00

How do you prevent cheating in your A&P class? Or do you even think about it?

One of my favorite "teaching" books is What the Best College Teachers Do. After examining diverse "master teachers," the author (Ken Bain) lists some of the characteristics most often seen in such individuals. One of them is that master teachers do not fret much about cheating in their courses. Instead, they seem to focus more on developing a culture in each learning community that naturally discourages dishonesty by building trust and integrity.

That revelation changed the way I look at cheating in my courses. Rather than working hard at developing complex anti-cheating strategies, I work hard at educating my students about the value of academic integrity. Although one can never be absolutely certain of the extent of cheating in one's courses, the tools I do have available tell me that cheating is not a significant problem in my courses.

Of course, I do pay attention to setting things up in ways that discourage cheating, but I don't go overboard . . . and I don't worry about it.

How, exactly, do I promote academic integrity? And what are some of the specific methods that I use to discourage cheating? Those answers and more can be found in the resources below:

Want to know more?

Why be honest?
Kevin Patton
The A&P Student 5 January 2012
[Brief article for students. Explains why they should want to be honest. You can link to this in your syllabus or course website.]
my-ap.us/zHHd7H

Academic Integrity
Kevin Patton
The A&P Professor accessed 5 January 2012
[Extended version of this article. It also gives specific tips and examples, as well as free resources such as handouts, syllabus example, and PowerPoint slides.]
my-ap.us/xSDoxP

Free bookmarks for your students!

2012-01-03T14:00:00.000-06:00

As you begin another term of A&P, don't forget to stock up on those FREE eyeball bookmarks for your students!

These unique "anatomically correct" first-day-of-class gifts for your students include information for your students on how to access my blog The A&P Student. This blog has a continuously updated library of study tips for A&P, shortcuts, links to learning resources, and more.

These bookmarks are available in packs of 50 to qualified A&P instructors. And if you act now, you'll also get some fun freebies for yourself!

Get your free bookmarks here: my-ap.us/99NNTx

Caffeine strengthens synapses

2011-11-29T14:00:00.003-06:00

Can caffeine help us learn A&P (or anything else)? Can it improve our memory?

Recent research published in Nature Neuroscience this week suggests that the answer may be yes. In animal studies, caffeine strengthened synaptic connections in the hippocampus of the brain. That's not enough to demonstrate that caffeine will be an effective learning enhancer . . . but is does suggest the possibility.

We've been talking about synapses and memory in our A&P 1 course recently, so I thought you might also. And perhaps want to drop in this tidbit about the latest research.

Next time our students ask how they can possibly remember everything in the A&P course, perhaps a trip to the campus coffee shop may be in order, eh?

Want to know more?

Coffee delivers jolt deep in the brain
Laura Sanders
Science News Web edition : Monday, November 21st, 2011
[A brief synopsis discussing the discovery.]
my-ap.us/upTvh2

Caffeine-induced synaptic potentiation in hippocampal CA2 neurons
Stephen B Simons, et. al.
Nature Neuroscience (2011) Published online 20 November 2011 doi:10.1038/nn.2962
[The original research article]
my-ap.us/sbedTE

Caffeine

Touch sense is enhanced by deafness gene

2011-11-21T13:29:00.000-06:00


Voltage-gated K+ channel protein	KCNQ4

We recently discussed the role of ion channels in membrane potentials of excitable cells in my A&P class. I don't think my students believe me when I say that ion channels are a "hot area" of neuroscience research and that understanding them better will lead to all kinds of new insights about how our nervous system works.

Well, today in Nature Neuroscience researchers reveal that a gene for a protein in voltage-gated potassium channels in sensory cells that is mutated in a form of progressive deafness is also responsible for helping us sense vibration in the skin. When the gene is mutated, it limits hearing. But the mutation heightens touch sensitivity in the skin.

So folks with this form of deafness lose hearing but gain touch sensitivity.

However, there doesn't seem to be any measurable advantage to the increased touch sensitivity. Probably, there is a disadvantage.

The important thing here, I think, is that it shows us something about how this particular potassium ion channel, which inhibits neuron excitability, can be used to adjust the sensitivity of sensory neurons for touch.

Studies such as this help us understand that certain genes can be expressed in different cells and have similar functions--but different roles to play. It also underscores the tendency of the human body to make more than one use of a particular process.

If our A&P students start looking for the same mechanisms that appear in different parts of the body, then they'll gain a deeper understanding of human structure and function.

Want to know more?

Deafness Gene Heightens Touch
Tia Ghose
TheScientist November 20, 2011
my-ap.us/s5OP8n
[Brief news article summarizing the discovery]

KCNQ4 K+ channels tune mechanoreceptors for normal touch sensation in mouse and man
M. Heidenreich, et. al.
Nature Neuroscience 20 November , 2011
doi:10.1038/nn.298
my-ap.us/sNhC08
[Original research article]

Dendritic cell pioneers win Nobel Prize

2011-10-03T11:26:00.000-05:00

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided that

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011

shall be divided, with one half jointly to

Bruce A. Beutler and Jules A. Hoffmann

for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity

and the other half to

Ralph M. Steinman

for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity

Summary

This year's Nobel Laureates have revolutionized our understanding of the immune system by discovering key principles for its activation.
Scientists have long been searching for the gatekeepers of the immune response by which man and other animals defend themselves against attack by bacteria and other microorganisms. Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffmann discovered receptor proteins that can recognize such microorganisms and activate innate immunity, the first step in the body's immune response. Ralph Steinman discovered the dendritic cells of the immune system and their unique capacity to activate and regulate adaptive immunity, the later stage of the immune response during which microorganisms are cleared from the body.
The discoveries of the three Nobel Laureates have revealed how the innate and adaptive phases of the immune response are activated and thereby provided novel insights into disease mechanisms. Their work has opened up new avenues for the development of prevention and therapy against infections, cancer, and inflammatory diseases.

Two lines of defense in the immune system

We live in a dangerous world. Pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, virus, fungi, and parasites) threaten us continuously but we are equipped with powerful defense mechanisms (please see image below). The first line of defense, innate immunity, can destroy invading microorganisms and trigger inflammation that contributes to blocking their assault. If microorganisms break through this defense line, adaptive immunity is called into action. With its T and B cells, it produces antibodies and killer cells that destroy infected cells. After successfully combating the infectious assault, our adaptive immune system maintains an immunologic memory that allows a more rapid and powerful mobilization of defense forces next time the same microorganism attacks. These two defense lines of the immune system provide good protection against infections but they also pose a risk. If the activation threshold is too low, or if endogenous molecules can activate the system, inflammatory disease may follow.
The components of the immune system have been identified step by step during the 20^thcentury. Thanks to a series of discoveries awarded the Nobel Prize, we know, for instance, how antibodies are constructed and how T cells recognize foreign substances. However, until the work of Beutler, Hoffmann and Steinman, the mechanisms triggering the activation of innate immunity and mediating the communication between innate and adaptive immunity remained enigmatic.

Discovering the sensors of innate immunity

Jules Hoffmann made his pioneering discovery in 1996, when he and his co-workers investigated how fruit flies combat infections. They had access to flies with mutations in several different genes including Toll, a gene previously found to be involved in embryonal development by Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (Nobel Prize 1995). When Hoffmann infected his fruit flies with bacteria or fungi, he discovered that Toll mutants died because they could not mount an effective defense. He was also able to conclude that the product of the Toll gene was involved in sensing pathogenic microorganisms and Toll activation was needed for successful defense against them.
Bruce Beutler was searching for a receptor that could bind the bacterial product, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which can cause septic shock, a life threatening condition that involves overstimulation of the immune system. In 1998, Beutler and his colleagues discovered that mice resistant to LPS had a mutation in a gene that was quite similar to the Toll gene of the fruit fly. This Toll-like receptor (TLR) turned out to be the elusive LPS receptor. When it binds LPS, signals are activated that cause inflammation and, when LPS doses are excessive, septic shock. These findings showed that mammals and fruit flies use similar molecules to activate innate immunity when encountering pathogenic microorganisms. The sensors of innate immunity had finally been discovered.
The discoveries of Hoffmann and Beutler triggered an explosion of research in innate immunity. Around a dozen different TLRs have now been identified in humans and mice. Each one of them recognizes certain types of molecules common in microorganisms. Individuals with certain mutations in these receptors carry an increased risk of infections while other genetic variants of TLR are associated with an increased risk for chronic inflammatory diseases.

A new cell type that controls adaptive immunity

Ralph Steinman discovered, in 1973, a new cell type that he called the dendritic cell. He speculated that it could be important in the immune system and went on to test whether dendritic cells could activate T cells, a cell type that has a key role in adaptive immunity and develops an immunologic memory against many different substances. In cell culture experiments, he showed that the presence of dendritic cells resulted in vivid responses of T cells to such substances. These findings were initially met with skepticism but subsequent work by Steinman demonstrated that dendritic cells have a unique capacity to activate T cells.
Further studies by Steinman and other scientists went on to address the question of how the adaptive immune system decides whether or not it should be activated when encountering various substances. Signals arising from the innate immune response and sensed by dendritic cells were shown to control T cell activation. This makes it possible for the immune system to react towards pathogenic microorganisms while avoiding an attack on the body's own endogenous molecules.

From fundamental research to medical use

The discoveries that are awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize have provided novel insights into the activation and regulation of our immune system. They have made possible the development of new methods for preventing and treating disease, for instance with improved vaccines against infections and in attempts to stimulate the immune system to attack tumors. These discoveries also help us understand why the immune system can attack our own tissues, thus providing clues for novel treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Bruce A. Beutler was born in 1957 in Chicago, USA. He received his MD from the University of Chicago in 1981 and worked as a scientist at Rockefeller University in New York and the University of Texas in Dallas, where he discovered the LPS receptor. Since 2000 he has been professor of genetics and immunology at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA.
Jules A. Hoffmann was born in Echternach, Luxembourg in 1941. He studied at the University of Strasbourg in France, where he obtained his PhD in 1969. After postdoctoral training at the University of Marburg, Germany, he returned to Strasbourg, where he headed a research laboratory from 1974 to 2009. He has also served as director of the Institute for Molecular Cell Biology in Strasbourg and during 2007-2008 as President of the French National Academy of Sciences.
Ralph M. Steinman was born in 1943 in Montreal, Canada, where he studied biology and chemistry at McGill University. After studying medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, USA, he received his MD in 1968. He has been affiliated with Rockefeller University in New York since 1970, has been professor of immunology at this institution since 1988, and is also director of its Center for Immunology and Immune Diseases.

Key publications:

Poltorak A, He X, Smirnova I, Liu MY, Van Huffel C, Du X, Birdwell D, Alejos E, Silva M, Galanos C, Freudenberg M, Ricciardi-Castagnoli P, Layton B, Beutler B. Defective LPS signaling in C3H/HeJ and C57BL/10ScCr mice: Mutations in Tlr4 gene. Science 1998;282:2085-2088.

Lemaitre B, Nicolas E, Michaut L, Reichhart JM, Hoffmann JA. The dorsoventral regulatory gene cassette spätzle/Toll/cactus controls the potent antifungal response in drosophila adults. Cell 1996;86:973-983.

Steinman RM, Cohn ZA. Identification of a novel cell type in peripheral lymphoid organs of mice. J Exp Med 1973;137:1142-1162.

Steinman RM, Witmer MD. Lymphoid dendritic cells are potent stimulators of the primary mixed leukocyte reaction in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1978;75:5132-5136.

Schuler G, Steinman RM. Murine epidermal Langerhans cells mature into potent immunostimulatory dendritic cells in vitro. J Exp Med 1985;161:526-546.

High resolution image (pdf 3,6 Mb)

The Nobel Assembly, consisting of 50 professors at Karolinska Institutet, awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Its Nobel Committee evaluates the nominations. Since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded to scientists who have made the most important discoveries for the benefit of mankind.

Nobel Prize® is the registered trademark of the Nobel Foundation

The information above is taken directly from

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Press Release
Nobelprize.org. 3 Oct 2011 my-ap.us/pE7zzC

Want to know more?

Immune Responses
[An animated activity from the Nobel Prize folks.]
my-ap.us/o9s6Zt

Find a brief explanation of dendritic cells in these textbooks:

Anatomy & Physiology (Chapter 21) Patton & Thibodeau
Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology (Chapter 19) Patton, Thibodeau, & Douglas

Find FREE images and videos you can use in your course
Dendritic cells
http://my-ap.us/pkQycM

Watch a brief video on dendritic cells.

Bookmark time again!

2011-08-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

As you begin another term of A&P, don't forget to stock up on those FREE eyeball bookmarks for your students!

These bizarre "first day of class" gifts for your students include information for your students on how to access my blog The A&P Student. This blog has a continuously updated library of study tips for A&P, shortcuts, links to learning resources, and more.

These bookmarks are available in packs of 50 to qualified A&P instructors. And if you act now, you'll also get some fun freebies for yourself!

Get your free bookmarks here: my-ap.us/99NNTx

That weird E. coli epidemic

2011-06-08T15:30:00.005-05:00

Remember my previous post, in which I gave you a free slide show on the role of the appendix in keeping the gut microbiome happy? Well, to sort of "prove the point" of the importance of a healthy gut microbiome, we've been hearing all about that weird Escherichia coli (E. coli) epidemic in Europe.

If you're like me, you'll want to take the opportunity to emphasize concepts learned in class by applying them to "real life" events reported in the news. If you're like me, you may want to check out these journal articles:

Deadly bugs: Toxin-producing E. coli strain causes outbreak in Germany
Tina Hesman Saey
Science News web edition : Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
my-ap.us/lfMeYE
[Brief, highly readable introduction to the current outbreak in Europe. Plus a cool photo!]

Bacterial infections: new and emerging enteric pathogens
Sherman, P et al.
Current Opinion in Gastroenterology:January 2010 - Volume 26 - Issue 1 - p 1-4
doi: 10.1097/MOG.0b013e328333d73b
my-ap.us/lJv8PC
[from the abstract: "The aim of this review is to highlight recent advances in knowledge of bacterial enteric infections. We focus on understanding of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter jejuni infections, and to link these acute events with long-term consequences in a susceptible host, including irritable bowel syndrome and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases."]

Clinical Relevance of Shiga Toxin Concentrations in the Blood of Patients With Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
Brigotti, Maurizio et al.
Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal: June 2011 - Volume 30 - Issue 6 - pp 486-490
doi: 10.1097/INF.0b013e3182074d22
my-ap.us/j72bUA
[from the abstract: "Intestinal infections with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in children can lead to the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Shiga toxins (Stx) released in the gut by bacteria enter the blood stream and target the kidney causing endothelial injury. Free toxins have never been detected in the blood of HUS patients, but they have been found on the surface of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN)."]

Infectious colitis
Navaneethan, Udayakumar and Giannella, Ralph A
Current Opinion in Gastroenterology: January 2011 - Volume 27 - Issue 1 - p 66–71
doi: 10.1097/MOG.0b013e3283400755
my-ap.us/mTOlpN
[from the abstract: "The incidence of gastrointestinal infections continues to increase and infectious colitis contributes to significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The purpose of this review is to highlight the recent advances in knowledge of pathogens causing infectious colitis. We describe the various pathogens and specifically focus on enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7, Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, and Entamoeba histolytica infections, and their impact on long-term effects, including postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease."]

An inside job: subversion of the host secretory pathway by intestinal pathogens
Sharp, Tyler M and Estes, Mary K
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases: October 2010 - Volume 23 - Issue 5 - p 464–469
doi: 10.1097/QCO.0b013e32833dcebd
my-ap.us/leb7Le
[from the abstract: "The cellular secretory pathway, composed of the endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and cellular vesicles, mediates the intracellular trafficking of proteins and lipids. Gastrointestinal pathogens frequently affect the functions of enterocytes, the differentiated cells involved in secretion and absorption of extracellular molecules. Microbial pathogenesis can be enhanced by altering the trafficking of key molecules such as brush border enzymes, soluble immune mediators such as cytokines and chemokines, and MHC Class I molecules, all of which rely on the secretory pathway for their appropriate cellular localization. This review focuses on our current understanding of the distinct mechanisms employed by enteric pathogens to antagonize the secretory pathway."]

Probiotics: progress toward novel therapies for intestinal diseases
Yan et al.
Current Opinion in Gastroenterology: March 2010 - Volume 26 - Issue 2 - p 95–101
doi: 10.1097/MOG.0b013e328335239a
my-ap.us/iH93qP
[from the abstract "As the beneficial effects of probiotics on health and disease prevention and treatment have been well recognized, the demand for probiotics in clinical applications and as functional foods has significantly increased in spite of limited understanding of the mechanisms. This review focuses on the most recent advances in probiotic research from genetics to biological consequences regulated by probiotics and probiotic-derived factors."]

For a really cool, copyright-free image to use in your course, go to my-ap.us/lVEg69

FREE animated function of the appendix

2011-05-09T14:00:00.008-05:00

When in comes to explaining the role of the human vermiform appendix, I must dispel students' belief that it has no role. And then I must try to convey that it has an immune function while at the same time promoting microbial growth.

Being a visual learner by preference, and therefore preferentially a visual teacher, I find any concept easier to teach if I can draw a picture of it. Even better if I can put that picture into motion.

I recently uploaded a new set of animated PowerPoint slides that anyone can use to explain the immune function of the appendix.

To download and view the FREE set of slides, go to http://www.mediafire.com/file/jqgizrv1xr8s6kd/AppendixFunction-LionDen-KPatton.pptx

To access the file, you'll need a password. If you don't already have a current password to the Lion Den Slide Collection, you can get one by filling out the form at http://my-ap.us/eOtyVq

Feel free to use it in your classroom or website (or both).

I'll be adding a narrated version to my YouTube channel soon at youtube.com/user/kevintpatton

Want to know more?

New "old" news about the appendix
K. Patton
The A&P Professor 24 Aug 2009
[From the archive of this blog, includes some interesting comments from our readers plus links to journal articles]
http://my-ap.us/eIHUKI

The Cecal Appendix: One More Immune Component With a Function Disturbed By Post-Industrial Culture
Michel Laurin et al.
The Anatomical Record. Article first published online: 2 MAR 2011 DOI: 10.1002/ar.21357
[Recent review article that outlines an interesting perspective on the function of the appendix.]
http://my-ap.us/fUeGPX

Video: Neutrophils to the Rescue

2011-05-02T14:00:00.000-05:00

Have you seen this video from Science Videolab that shows fluorescent-stained neutrophils rushing toward the site of a tissue injury?

The clip actually strings together several videos showing bright green neutrophils rushing toward damaged cells in liver tissue (seen as bright red areas). The narrator explains in simple terms what is going on and what it means in understanding what happens when tissue damage occurs.

This is a great FREE video to show your class when discussing any or all of these topics:

WBCs in general
Neutrophils
Immune response
Inflammation
Chemotaxis

Check out the video!

http://my-ap.us/fh1Exm

Want to know more?

Intravascular Danger Signals Guide Neutrophils to Sites of Sterile Inflammation
Braedon McDonald et al.
Science 15 October 2010: Vol. 330 no. 6002 pp. 362-366 DOI: 10.1126/science.1195491
[Research article that summarizes the discovery about how neutrophils use a multistep process to navigate toward noninfectious sites of tissue injury. ]
http://my-ap.us/f5Fua6

EDITORS' CHOICE: Immunology Inflammation Response in Living Color
Kristen L. Mueller
Sci. Signal., 19 October 2010 Vol. 3, Issue 144, p. ec324 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.3144ec324
[Editor's summary of the processes described above]
http://my-ap.us/fFfwOq

Supplementary courses help A&P students succeed

2011-04-25T14:00:00.001-05:00

A few years ago, we brainstormed about what else we could do as A&P professors to help our students succeed. We realized that the two most common things holding our students back from reaching their full potential were:

Lack of adequate preparation to begin A&P on a solid footing
Lack of basic learning and study skills

With the typical A&P course involving an unrelenting flood of facts, concepts, and applications, a lack of preparation and study skills can be catastrophic.

To address the lack of preparation, we have a prerequisite of "C or better in high school biology or its equivalent within the last five years." That's the best we could manage given the constraints of our institution and its programs. But even with the most stringent prerequisites, it's rare that students really walk into an A&P class ready with a comfortable foundation in biological chemistry and cell biology.

So I developed a refresher course that incoming A&P students could take just before entering their A&P 1 course. Foundations in Science for Health Careers is a developmental level, one-hour course that is offered in a completely online self-paced format. We offer it only during the short mini-mesters and half-semesters.

The Foundations course covers the basic chemistry and biology concepts students need as they begin A&P.

To address the lack of study skills, I developed a one-credit course for our A&P 1 students to take along with A&P 1. Having been given the idea of a supplemental course by my friend Mari Hopper at Southern Indiana University, we began offering A&P 1 Supplement at our institution.

This course parallels the A&P 1 course, giving students how-to tips on specific study skills useful in A&P. Students also have the opportunity to bring their sticking points to the class to get help in getting them unstuck.

The Foundations course is the refresher course and the Supplement course is the shortcut course.

Want to know more?

Check out my video . . .

Viewing this content requires Silverlight. You can download Silverlight from http://www.silverlight.net/getstarted/silverlight3.

Then check out the handout and helpful links at The A&P Professor website:

SEMINAR: Helping Students Succeed

Do these courses work? We're still working on the statistics, but as the above presentations tell you, student feedback from anonymous surveys show that students are happy with what they are getting from these courses. When we get some statistical analysis done, I'll let you know!

[NOTE: If your students would like to take our online pre-A&P refresher course (BIO 095 Foundations in Science for Health Careers) prior to taking your A&P course, they can enroll at St. Charles Community College during either of two 5-wk summer sessions or during either of two 1-wk pre-fall sessions . . . or beyond.]

First human brain map unveiled

2011-04-18T14:00:00.089-05:00

Today NewScientist reported that the world's first computerized map of the brain was unveiled last week by neuroscientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science.

The FREE interactive brain map must be downloaded and installed on your computer at http://my-ap.us/f8Rabf It's fun . . . you should try it!

You can see both of two brains used to produce the maps and check which parts of the brain you want to see. Each is shown in a different color and you check and uncheck brain parts as you explore. For example, you can visualize just the cerebral nuclei, then add in the cerebral cortex. You can also click on each part of the cortex and it will highlight (and name) the particular gyrus or region that you are on.

There are far more features than I've had the time to explore . . . and far more than I'll need to use in the classroom to help my students visualize the brain's structure.

All these richer features are available because it's meant as a research tool rather than a teaching tool. The new map can show the biochemistry and gene expression at various sites based on in depth studies done on two human brains, for example. But you don't have to use any of the richer features.

One of many interesting and useful tidbits of information that has come out of the research end of the project is that there is a 94% similarity in the biochemistry of the two human brains used int he study.

Another interesting fact is that at least 82% of all human genes are expressed in the human brain. (Except perhaps in mine, especially on Fridays.)

While exploring the website at Allen Institute for Brain Science I also stumbled upon a nifty, interactive tool that I'll also probably use in my A&P course. This FREE tool allows you to view different planes of the brain simultaneously while navigating around the brain. I imagine that this tool would be fun to use in class to visualize anatomical relationships of the brain as students themselves navigate around and answer their own questions about the general nature of brain structure.

Want to know more?

World's first human brain map unveiled
H. Crawford
NewScientist published online 15 April 2011
[Brief news synopsis with images of applications of the new brain map]
http://my-ap.us/dRY1Qy

Allen Institute's online MRI explorer
[FREE interactive tool that allows you to explore a human brain MRI to visualize brain structure at different levels that you control.]
http://my-ap.us/hjGa7c

Allen Institute's download page for Brain Explorer 2
[FREE interactive tool that allows researchers to locate biochemistry and/or gene expression at specific brain locations.]
http://my-ap.us/fDppYG

Looking for a new one-semester A&P textbook?

2011-04-11T14:00:00.200-05:00

I'm excited about the recent publication of my latest textbook for A&P students! Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology is designed for use in one-semester A&P courses.

Coauthors Gary Thibodeau and Matt Douglas worked closely with me and a very talented team of creative editors and scientific illustrators to produce a textbook that students will love to use.

What? A text book that students will actually use?! How can that be?

Let me summarize just two of the many reasons:

This book is the most visually oriented textbook in its niche.

There are more illustrations than in most other one-semester books, providing students with additional visual help in mastering concepts.
Each illustration is carefully designed for maximum learning effectiveness.
Most figures include a detailed "walk through" that explains the meaning of image, rather than merely providing a perfunctory title.
It includes the Clear View of the Human Body, a bound-in set of transparency overlays that provide a virtual dissection experience for readers as they peel away (or add) layers of the body from either an anterior view or a posterior view. This experience allows readers to develop a sense of anatomical relationships among body structures.
Numerous summary tables act as graphic organizers to help students see relationships among concepts.
We worked hard to get the images and tables close to related text. This kind of visual integration not as easy at is sounds, requiring several passes at the layout to "get it right" and creatively fit everything together.

This text is carefully constructed to be easy to read and easy to raid. Polls conducted with my students show that most students who use a textbook use some combination of reading chapter sections straight through and simply raiding parts of chapter sections when they need to find something.

Even strong readers have some difficulty reading highly technical scientific texts. We use straightforward, conversational language to communicate difficult terminology and difficult concepts.

This text breaks the material down into smaller chapters so that readers do not get overwhelmed and get so discouraged they won't read the book.
Our page design uses many levels of bold headings to help students understand the organization of concepts as they read and to find specific concepts when they raid.
I worked with reading specialists and ESL teachers to find ways to make the book more accessible to all readers. For example:

We include a significantly larger glossary than most texts in this market.
In-chapter pronunciation guides for all boldface terms used in each chapter.help students master the language of A&P.

We provide the meanings of word parts for all boldface terms so that students can start building their skills in understanding scientific terminology
A comprehensive outline summary at the end of each chapter visually organizes concepts so that readers can solidify their comprehension of the chapter.

Downloadable audio chapter summaries (included in the included online resources) can be used along with the printed chapter summaries to strengthen understanding even more.

And that's just a small sample of the many unique features of our new Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology. You really do need to see it for yourself!

Want to know more?

If you go to the electronic brochure, you can view a sample chapter, get a list of available ancillaries, learn about the complete online course available with the textbook, and request a FREE examination copy.

Click the link: http://my-ap.us/gcH7Jr

Plaque-fighting bacteria

2011-04-03T14:00:00.003-05:00

Have you noticed that the microbiome of the human body has taken off as one of the hottest areas? Each month, new concepts of how our microbial partners keeps us healthy are revealed. Last week, we were discussing teeth in my A&P 2 course and I wish I'd had this new tidbit to share with my students:

Researchers recently found that Streptococcus salivarius, one of the microbes in our mouth, can help fight the buildup of plaque on our teeth. It does so by producing the enzyme FruA, which breaks down carbohydrates in our mouth more efficiently than can the bacteria that form plaque biofilms. Thus, the plaque-forming bacteria are robbed of their nutrients.

I'll bet S. salivarius will become popular as an oral probiotic. And its discovery may help us find better ways to manage our mouth's ecosystem to promote good health.

Want to know more?

Inhibition of Streptococcus mutans Biofilm Formation by Streptococcus salivarius FruA
A. Ogawa, et al.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Vol. 77, March 2011, p. 1572 doi:10.1128/AEM.02066-10, published online January 14, 2011
[Original research article]
http://my-ap.us/h7RuaA

Bacterial fight dental plaque
Tina Hesman Saey
Science News Published online April 1, 2011
[Brief summary of the discovery]
http://my-ap.us/hsj1nb

Click the image above to access a FREE animation of tooth decay you can use in your course as you explain the process.

Progesterone's action on sperm finally solved

2011-03-25T14:00:00.001-05:00

Two recent articles in Nature reveal a mystery that's been puzzling physiologists for a couple of decades . . . how does progesterone signal sperm cells?

The short version of the story is this . . .

Progesterone is released from the cumulus cells that cling to the outside of the zona pellucida surrounding the ovum. This progesterone binds directly to calcium channels in the sperm's plasma membrane to open. Influx of calcium ions triggers an increase in flagellum activity. This increased work is needed for the sperm to get through the zona to the ovum.

Progesterone is a steroid hormone and thus usually enters its target cell and activates transcription of a gene. In this case, however, progesterone instead directly triggers a calcium channel. It's not even a second-messenger system, but a direct binding to the channel.

Secretion of progesterone by cumulus cells apparently also provides a chemical gradient that helps sperm navigate toward the ovum.

Recall also that calcium influx into the ovum triggered by contact with a sperm cell plays a role in producing changes within the ovum that result in successful fertilization.

I recommend that my students keep running concept lists on recurring themes or actors in story of human biology. Here's something they can now add to their calcium list. Now they can see that a calcium gradient is a truly multipurpose tool in the body. (For more about running concept lists see my-ap.us/hCIA9X)

Want to know more?

Sperm mystery solved: Scientists identify the channel by which progesterone activates sperm to swim toward an egg
M. Scudellari
The Scientist Published online 16th March 2011
[Nice summary of the significance of the discovery]
my-ap.us/grpcTp

Female hormone could be key to male contraceptive: Progesterone-sensing molecule that guides sperm to egg offers fertility solution.
E. Callaway
NatureNews Published online 16 March 2011 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2011.163
[Summary article outlining the papers published in Nature]
my-ap.us/fJNaYk

Progesterone activates the principal Ca2+ channel of human sperm
Lishko et al.
Nature 471:387–391 17 March 2011 doi:10.1038/nature09767
[Original research findings]
my-ap.us/gxcomX

The CatSper channel mediates progesterone-induced Ca2+ influx in human sperm
Strunker et al.
Nature 471:382–386 17 March 2011 doi:10.1038/nature09769
[Original research findings] my-ap.us/g14eTK

From The A&P Professor archive

New discovery about sperm's ability to swim
K. Patton
The A&P Professor published online Feb 18, 2010
[Summary of new discovery that when sperm enter female tract, proton channels in the sperm head open and the resulting pH drop triggers influx of calcium, which gets the flagella started in the first place. That darn calcium shows up in every part of this story, eh?]
my-ap.us/dExdEK

What do tuft cells do?

2011-03-16T14:00:00.001-05:00

We've known for a half-century that the lining of the small intestine has a scattering of weird little cells called tuft cells. They are called that because they have distinctive tufts of microvilli facing into the intestinal lumen. But what do they do? We're finally getting to the answer!

A recent article in Journal of Cell Biology outlines confirms some recent discoveries about tuft cell function and extends our knowledge a bit further.

Apparently, tuft cells are secretory cells that produce opioids in the gut. They are also the only epithelial cells that produce the COX (cyclooxygenase) enzymes needed to produce prostaglandins involved in inflammation and tumor formation.

Some physiologists had previously proposed a sensory role for tuft cells. Could they be involved in tasting foods in the gut and be part of the signaling mechanism that regulates exocrine and endocrine secretion that controls digestive and metabolic processes?

As we learn more about tuft cells, we are sure to discover a role for them in normal regulation of intestinal function as well as in important pathological processes.

Want to know more?

A fifth amendment to the intestine's constitution
Ben ShortJournal of Cell Biology 2011 192:706. Published March 7, 2011, doi:10.1083/jcb.1925iti2
[Brief synopsis of the discovery and its importance]
http://my-ap.us/ezeS9J

Distinct ATOH1 and Neurog3 requirements define tuft cells as a new secretory cell type in the intestinal epithelium.
Gerbe, F., et al.
Journal of Cell Biology 2011 Mar 7;192(5):767-80. doi:10.1083/jcb.201010127.
[Original research article. Includes many illustrations, supplements, helps and cross references. FREE full text]
my-ap.us/eCNITF

Here's a really nice teaching image from the Gerbe et al. article, which complements Figure 25-18 in the Anatomy & Physiology 7/E textbook: my-ap.us/hmdFub (includes downloadable PowerPoint slide)

Here are all the PowerPoints available with the Gerbe et al. article: my-ap.us/gKY7ZG

Chemosensory Perception in the Gut
Hofer, D., et al.
Physiology February 1999 vol. 14 no. 1 18-23
[Article proposing sensory function of tuft cells; FREE access to full text/PDF; nice images]
http://my-ap.us/g2HCxw

Antibodies work INSIDE virus-infected cells

2011-03-11T14:00:00.003-06:00

You already know that we use antibodies in several ways to combat infection in our immune system. They bind to pathogens, they activate complement, you know the drill. Well, here's another bullet point to add to your antibody slide: we've found a new intracellular role for the antibody.

Researchers have recently shown that antibodies can attach to a virus, which then enters a host cell where a molecule called TRIM21 quickly binds at Fc on the IgG antibodies. By ubiquitin ligase activity, TRIM21 targets the virus's proteins for destruction by the proteasome.

Click here for an awesome animation that shows all this violent destruction in a simple, dramatic way. Your students will love this animation, because the proteasomes' rapid and total destruction of the virus is so amazing to watch. And it's a good opportunity to emphasize the importance of the proteasome in the cell.

Not only does this observation give us a new intracellular role for antibodies, it also highlights a new and important strategic link between innate immunity (TRIM21/proteasome action) and adaptive immunity (antibodies).

Want to know more?

Antibodies mediate intracellular immunity through tripartite motif-containing 21 (TRIM21)
Donna L. Mallery, et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science November 16, 2010 vol. 107 no. 46 19985-19990
Published online before print November 2, 2010, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1014074107
[This is the original paper, available open access]

Read this shortened evaluation highlighting the key findings:
Koch D, Sawtell N: 2010. F1000.com/6381958

Come Inside
R. Grant
The Scientist Volume 25 Issue 3 Page 58 2011-03-01
[Quick and easy summary, including that awesome video]

By the way, I love those movies showing miniaturized submarines exploring the inside of the body . . . and this reminds me of the SyFy thriller Antibody with Lance Henriksen and Robin Givens. Yes, it's a hokey movie, but I like the scenes showing the immune cells attacking the miniaturized sub.

Prezi practice practicals

2011-02-28T14:00:00.028-06:00

In my blog The Electronic Professor, I recently wrote about the Prezi alternative to PowerPoint presentations.

In a nutshell, Prezi creates large, complex sets of information that you can zoom into either at will or in a preplanned way.

As I was exploring around the Prezi presentations that have been made public, I found a great idea . . . why not use Prezi to create practice lab practicals?

My students always find it hard to get ready for practicals. Obviously, part of the issue is the massive amount of content that we ask them to learn. But, perhaps more imporatantly, it's hard for them to imagine the kinds of questions that they are likely to get. We set up "practice practicals" in our open lab when we can . . . and that helps a lot. But wouldn't it be great to have an easy to access online place our students can practice for their praticals?

Well, Rob Swatski at the York Campus of Harrisburg Area Community College (York, PA) has already cracked this egg!

Take a look at his Virtual Lab Exam for muscles in A&P 1.

Virtual Anatomy Lab Exam on Prezi

You have to start clicking around and get the feel for how this practice lab practical is set up . . . but once you have the hang of it, it's amazing. You can see how students can practice the content and also get a feel for EXACTLY the kinds of things they'll be asked to do on their practical.

Another idea that Rob came up with is shown in this presentation that introduces the microscope. Rob uses the particular characteristics of Prezi to full advantage to produce a resource that is useful for both teaching and learning in the A&P lab.

Take a Virtual Tour of the Microscope on Prezi

Imagine how useful this sort of thing can be for

online tests and quizzes for labs
exploring large, complex anatomical structures in a lecture class
virtual dissections
student presentations
zooming in on tissues or bone markings while teaching histology

Let's hear YOUR ideas!

Concept Lists and Concept Maps

2011-02-17T14:00:00.002-06:00

I've recently posted two new videos that help students learn A&P to my YouTube channel.

You are welcome to use them in your course by linking to them or by embedding them in your website, LMS (learning management system), or PowerPoint presentation. Or you can just keep them in mind when students come to you looking for study tips. Or they may just spark some ideas of your own!

Concept Lists - A Powerful Study Strategy
Running concept lists are a great way to build up what you are learning layer by layer, while at the same time learning relationships between different concepts. If you run your concept lists faithfully, you will also have a handy "personal encyclopedia" of concepts and how they are related. (Closed Captioned)

The Concept Lists video is also embedded in one of my Lion Den Study Tips & Tools pages entitled Concept Lists.

Concept Maps - A Learning & Study Strategy
Concepts maps (mind maps) help you understand relationships in human anatomy and physiology in ways that deepen understanding. This video summarizes what a concept maps is, how to make and use one, and outlines some examples of different styles of concept maps. (Closed Captioned)

The Concep Maps video is also embedded in one of my Lion Den Study Tips & Tools pages entitled Concept Maps

Want to present your own version of any of these study tips? Perhaps embed parts of them into your own presentations? You are welcome to use the slides, which can be found in the Lion Den Slide Collection. (To use the slides, you'll need the password for downloading them. Just fill in the form to get the password if you don't already have it.)

When using the direct links, you need to have the super-secret, magic password ready!

Want more slides? More study tip materials to share with your students? In an upcoming post, I'll be sharing a few more, ok?

Don't forget that your students can keep up with all these study tips (and more) on their own by subscribing to my blog The A&P Student.

Lion Den Slide Collection

2011-01-06T14:00:00.000-06:00

As you think about getting started in a new semester, you may find that sets of FREE animated slides might help you spice up your classroom presentations.

For the last several years, I sent a set of hundreds of slides from my Lion Den site for students to anyone who donated to keeping that site up and running. But starting in this new year of a new decade of a (relatively new) century, I'm now opening up the "secret vault" for anyone who wants them. And promises to use them for good and not evil.

If you go to http://lionden.com/slides-form.htm and fill out the form, you'll get the location and "secret password" to open each file.

Once you are in the download location, you can access the original set of slides in the folder marked Lion Den Slide Collection 1.0. Newer and updated slide collections will be available in the folder Lion Den Slide Collection 2.0. You can follow the links to the folders to see what's there, but you cannot download any of the slide sets until you fill out the form and get the super-secret password.

You can preview some of the slides by going to the Lion Den slide page. However, not all the slides in the Lion Den Slide Collection are posted on that website, the slides are posted individually (not in sets), and they are in "slide show" format (which may not be fully editable by you). The slide sets in the downloadable collection are in fully editable .ppt or .pptx format. It's much easier to fill out the form (http://lionden.com/slides-form.htm), get the highly-classified-super-secret password and download the sets of slides.

You can preview the first set to become available in Lion Den Slide Collection 2.0 by going to Membrane Transport and view the slide show. (This preview is in the "slide show" format, not the fully editable presentation format.)

All the slides can be freely used (and adapted) for noncommercial educational purposes (see the license embedded in the Notes section of each slide).

As the User Manual states, these slides are not necessarily as detailed (or as simplified) as you would like to use in your own presentation. But because they are editable, you can change that, right? Also, some of these slides were originally intended for a particular purpose (such as introducing a topic that will be explored more fully later).

Another thing to remember is that the slide sets are not meant to be a complete set of slides covering all topics of A&P. In my classroom, I use a lot of images from the textbook (provided by the publisher). The slides in the Lion Den Slide Collection are meant to be supplemental slides.

Keep in mind that the slide sets are NOT created by a professional graphic artist . . . just old Kevin hacking away in PowerPoint. So they may not be as slick as some slides you've seen.

All the slides are in PowerPoint-compatible files. The newer slides are in the newer XML PowerPoint format (.pptx).

Google Body Browser

2010-12-28T14:00:00.001-06:00

My editor Jeff recently pointed me to a story about Google's recently launched Body Browser. I was amazed at this latest creation of Google Labs.

The Body Browser is a FREE online tool that you and your students can use to explore the anatomy of the human body in a "virtual dissection" format. Using the familiar Google Maps navigation tools, you can . . .

Peel (or fade) away layers of the body . . . removing the skin, then muscles, then bones, to reveal the internal organs
Select systems (skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular) to view
Click on any structure to show its label
Type the name of any structure in the search box to find it in the body
Tilt, zoom, turn the body to a variety of positions to see organs in more views that usually available in a textbook, atlas, or chart

The Body Browser runs inside any WebGL-enabled browser, meaning that you don't have to worry about having the latest Flash or Java plugins installed.

I think Body Browser a is a great FREE tool for A&P students to have access to an online model of the human body that can be used for a beginning study of anatomy. Because it allows the user to type in the names of organs for which they are looking, you don't need to worry about it being too high (or too low) a level for your course.

There are a few minor limitations of the Body Browser:

The only available specimen is female (that is, there is no male specimen available to complement the female specimen)
The specimen is partially clothed. Although one can see some of the underlying surface structures as the "skin" layer fades back, it's not the same as seeing these structures clearly. An odd feature that makes certain regions of the body "off limits." (I've seen some hacks to fix this, but none of them work for me using the Chrome browser)
Some of the organs are roughly rendered, so it's not as detailed (at least in some areas) as you may like to see
Only a few systems can be shown in entirety. Some useful system views that are missing are the lymphatic system and the respiratory system
You cannot select or hide individual organs for display
I could find no documentation or even a help button (pretty typical of Google Labs resources)

Even with some minor limitations, Body Browser is still a fantastic study and teaching tool. As an A&P professor, you might use Body Browser as . . .

a presentation tool during a class lecture or discussion to demonstrate the location and structure of specific organs

you could use it live or you could record a session with Jing or similar recording tool and use the pre-recorded exploration

a tutoring tool with which you can send the URL of a specific view (perhaps with a label) to a student or group of students
a testing tool with which you can create specific views that can then be used to test from on a quiz, test, or lab practical . . . perhaps using a screen capture tool such as Jing
alternative lab model to use along with, or in place of, physical models in the lab

it may be useful as a reference to side by side with a laboratory model
use it in place of a laboratory model in a distance learning course

I'll be listing some ideas for student uses of Body Browser at my blog The A&P Student.

Do you have some other ideas for using Body Browser in an undergraduate A&P course? Just use the comment feature and share your ideas with us!

Check out this video to see a demo of the currently available features of Body Browser

See you in Sarasota?

2010-12-14T14:00:00.005-06:00

I plan on attending the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) Southeast Regional Conference on January 22, 2011, in the Sarasota FL area.

Will I see you there?

These regional HAPS meetings are wonderful. Not only do you get to meet and chat with folks doing what you do from all kinds of institutions, you'll hear loads of ideas on how to better help your students succeed in A&P.

And what better time of year to head off for coastal Florida, eh?

Want some details?

Go to the official meeting website my-ap.us/f7HO2K for more information on invited speakers, available workshops, travel info, etc.. . . and a handy online registration form.

And I'll be presenting a workshop there:

Helping A&P Students Succeed:
Using Supplemental Courses to
Reinforce Concepts and Promote Learning Skills

Do your A&P students struggle with the whole process of learning?
Do they seem ill prepared in their study skills and their knowledge of basic principles of biology?
Explore a case study in which short supplemental courses provide underprepared and unskilled students
with knowledge and skills that make them better able to succeed in the A&P course and beyond.
You will also receive free resources to help your own students succeed.

I hope I see you there! I'd love to chat with you.

Father of Fractals

2010-12-03T14:00:00.005-06:00

You may have already heard the recent news of the passing of Benoit Mandelbrot, originator of the iconic Mandelbrot Set (pictured) and founder of the field of fractal geometry. It brings to mind the deeper understanding of human structure and function that has resulted directly from applying principles of fractal geometry. An important set of principles that I believe we A&P professors could do a better job of helping our students appreciate.

Mandelbrot's pioneering efforts in understanding the roughness of nature led to the discovery of basic principles of fractal geometry. A key characteristic of fractal structures is self-similarity (the parts resemble the whole).

In human anatomy, this self-similar characteristic is observed in surfaces that have folds, which have bumps, which in turn have their own bumps, and so on . . . producing unexpectedly huge total surface areas. For example, think of the loops of the intestines, which in turn have circular folds of mucosa, which in turn have villi, which in turn have microvilli, which in turn have membranes embedded with bumpy molecules, and so on.

Fractal self-similarity can also be observed in branched structures, such as the respiratory tract and the cardiovascular vessels. These structures have branches that have branches that have branches, and so on for many levels . . . producing large numbers of pathways and huge surface areas.

A particularly interesting characteristic of such complex fractal structures is that they are produced with relatively simple mathematical formulae. Which means that very little genetic information is needed to produce highly complex structures like intestines, blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, bronchial trees, cerebral convolutions, etc.

Fractal structures are also chaotic, a mathematical concept of "constrained randomness." Put simply, chaotic structures have an element of randomness but within limits. So when our body applies fractal geometry during development we can be certain of a particular type of structure without being certain we'll know exactly where each individual bump or branch will lie. In other words, we can more or less be certain where the main arteries will be (with some individual variation) but not so much for the various arterioles and capillaries . . . at least not precisely.

Principles of chaos also play out in human physiology when we observe the aperiodic (nonrhythmic) patterns of heart rate, brain waves (as in an EEG), and certain other functions.

Mandelbrot opened up a whole new understanding of human structure and function that is only now becoming understood widely. I've been introducing the concept of chaos and fractals in my courses, and more subtly in some of my textbooks, for several years now. My experience is that introducing simplified principles of chaos and fractals at the beginning of A&P 1, then reinforcing them when encountered throughout both semesters of A&P, help student appreciate an intriguing and important concept of human structure and function. A concept that is increasingly playing a central role in science's understanding of human biology.

Want to know more?

Benoît Mandelbrot (1924–2010)
Ralph Gomory
Nature Volume: 468, Page 378, Date published: 18 November 2010, doi:10.1038/468378a, Published online: 17 November 2010
[A brief synopsis of Mandelbrot's life and contributions from the journal Nature]

Chaos in the Human Body (Mini Lesson)
Kevin Patton
Lion Den http://lionden.com/chaos.htm
[Brief outline that I use with my own students in A&P 1]

Applications of Fractals - Human Body
ThinkQuest
Oracle Education Foundation. online (accessed 2 Dec 2010)
[Brief student-produced outline of some fractal principles of the body]

Fractal Geometry in Biological Systems: An Analytical Approach
Philip M. Iannaccone, Mustafa Khokha
CRC Press 1996
[Book outlining the initial discoveries of fractals in humans.]

Chaos: Making a New Science
James Gleick
Penguin 2008
[Reprint of the classic bestseller book that outlines in simple terms the concepts of chaos and fractal geometry. Highly recommended. Includes some applications/examples in human biology.]

Nobel Prize: Test Tube Babies

2010-10-04T11:28:00.005-05:00

This morning, we heard the news . . . the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology is awarded to Robert G. Edwards "for the development of in vitro fertilization."

Professors and students using my Anatomy & Physiology (7th ed.) textbook can access an article on in vitro fertilization (IVF) at A&P Connect online at evolve.elsevier.com

If you are thinking of mentioning this award in your classes this week, which I am planning to do myself, you are welcome to use the following information from the Nobel Committee, as well as the images linked to the thumbnails presented here (scroll down to the bottom for more).

Of course, be aware that the use of IVF is condemned by some religious groups (for example, see Dignitas Personae) and thus classroom discussions may become heated.

There is also advanced information available at the Nobel website. This is a nice publication that summarizes the science.

If you want a short set of slides that you can use today in your class, then use this link:

theAPprofessor.org/slides/2010-Nobel-IVF.pptx

Summary

Robert Edwards is awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for the development of human in vitro fertilization (IVF) therapy. His achievements have made it possible to treat infertility, a medical condition afflicting a large proportion of humanity including more than 10% of all couples worldwide.

As early as the 1950s, Edwards had the vision that IVF could be useful as a treatment for infertility. He worked systematically to realize his goal, discovered important principles for human fertilization, and succeeded in accomplishing fertilization of human egg cells in test tubes (or more precisely, cell culture dishes). His efforts were finally crowned by success on 25 July, 1978, when the world's first "test tube baby" was born. During the following years, Edwards and his co-workers refined IVF technology and shared it with colleagues around the world.

Approximately four million individuals have so far been born following IVF. Many of them are now adult and some have already become parents. A new field of medicine has emerged, with Robert Edwards leading the process all the way from the fundamental discoveries to the current, successful IVF therapy. His contributions represent a milestone in the development of modern medicine.

Infertility – a medical and psychological problem

More than 10% of all couples worldwide are infertile. For many of them, this is a great disappointment and for some causes lifelong psychological trauma. Medicine has had limited opportunities to help these individuals in the past. Today, the situation is entirely different. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is an established therapy when sperm and egg cannot meet inside the body.

Basic research bears fruit

The British scientist Robert Edwards began his fundamental research on the biology of fertilization in the 1950s. He soon realized that fertilization outside the body could represent a possible treatment of infertility. Other scientists had shown that egg cells from rabbits could be fertilized in test tubes when sperm was added, giving rise to offspring. Edwards decided to investigate if similar methods could be used to fertilize human egg cells.
It turned out that human eggs have an entirely different life cycle than those of rabbits. In a series of experimental studies conducted together with several different co-workers, Edwards made a number of fundamental discoveries. He clarified how human eggs mature, how different hormones regulate their maturation, and at which time point the eggs are susceptible to the fertilizing sperm. He also determined the conditions under which sperm is activated and has the capacity to fertilize the egg. In 1969, his efforts met with success when, for the first time, a human egg was fertilized in a test tube.
In spite of this success, a major problem remained. The fertilized egg did not develop beyond a single cell division. Edwards suspected that eggs that had matured in the ovaries before they were removed for IVF would function better, and looked for possible ways to obtain such eggs in a safe way.

From experiment to clinical medicine

Edwards contacted the gynecologist Patrick Steptoe. He became the clinician who, together with Edwards, developed IVF from experiment to practical medicine. Steptoe was one of the pioneers in laparoscopy, a technique that was new and controversial at the time. It allows inspection of the ovaries through an optical instrument. Steptoe used the laparoscope to remove eggs from the ovaries and Edwards put the eggs in cell culture and added sperm. The fertilized egg cells now divided several times and formed early embryos, 8 cells in size (see figure).
These early studies were promising but the Medical Research Council decided not to fund a continuation of the project. However, a private donation allowed the work to continue. The research also became the topic of a lively ethical debate that was initiated by Edwards himself. Several religious leaders, ethicists, and scientists demanded that the project be stopped, while others gave it their support.

The birth of Louise Brown - an historic event

Edwards and Steptoe could continue their research thanks to the new donation. By analyzing the patients' hormone levels, they could determine the best time point for fertilization and maximize the chances for success. In 1978, Lesley and John Brown came to the clinic after nine years of failed attempts to have a child. IVF treatment was carried out, and when the fertilized egg had developed into an embryo with 8 cells, it was returned to Mrs. Brown. A healthy baby, Louise Brown, was born through Caesarian section after a full-term pregnancy, on 25 July, 1978. IVF had moved from vision to reality and a new era in medicine had begun.

IVF is refined and spreads around the world

Edwards and Steptoe established the Bourn Hall Clinic in Cambridge, the world's first centre for IVF therapy. Steptoe was its medical director until his death in 1988, and Edwards was its head of research until his retirement. Gynecologists and cell biologists from all around the world trained at Bourn Hall, where the methods of IVF were continuously refined. By 1986, 1,000 children had already been born following IVF at Bourn Hall, representing approximately half of all children born after IVF in the world at that time.

Today, IVF is an established therapy throughout the world. It has undergone several important improvements. For example, single sperm can be microinjected directly into the egg cell in the culture dish. This method has improved the treatment of male infertility by IVF. Furthermore, mature eggs suitable for IVF can be identified by ultrasound and removed with a fine syringe rather than through the laparoscope.
IVF is a safe and effective therapy. 20-30% of fertilized eggs lead to the birth of a child. Complications include premature births but are very rare, particularly when one egg only is inserted into the mother. Long-term follow-up studies have shown that IVF children are as healthy as other children.
Approximately four million individuals have been born thanks to IVF. Louise Brown and several other IVF children have given birth to children themselves; this is probably the best evidence for the safety and success of IVF therapy. Today, Robert Edwards' vision is a reality and brings joy to infertile people all over the world.

Robert G. Edwards was born in 1925 in Manchester, England. After military service in the Second World War, he studied biology at the University of Wales in Bangor and at Edinburgh University in Scotland, where he received his PhD in 1955 with a Thesis on embryonal development in mice. He became a staff scientist at the National Institute for Medical Research in London in 1958 and initiated his research on the human fertilization process. From 1963, Edwards worked in Cambridge, first at its university and later at Bourn Hall Clinic, the world's first IVF centre, which he founded together with Patrick Steptoe. Edwards was its research director for many years and he was also the editor of several leading scientific journals in the area of fertilization. Robert Edwards is currently professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge.

References:

Edwards RG. Maturation in vitro of human ovarian oocytes. Lancet 1965; 2:926-929.

Edwards RG, Bavister BD, Steptoe PC. Early stages of fertilization in vitro of human oocytes matured in vitro. Nature 1969; 221:632-635.

Edwards RG, Steptoe PC, Purdy JM. Fertilization and cleavage in vitro of human oocytes matured in vivo. Nature 1970; 227:1307-1309.

Steptoe PC, Edwards RG. Birth after the reimplantation of a human embryo. Lancet 1978; 2:366.

Edwards RG. The bumpy road to human in vitro fertilization. Nature Med 2001; 7:1091-4.

The preceding information is from "The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Press Release". Nobelprize.org. 4 Oct 2010 http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2010/press.html

Some images you may find useful (click each thumbnail)

Sperm injection into oocyte

Human embryos developing in vitro

Robert G. Edwards

PDF from the Nobel website

Nobel medal

More FREE images!

2010-09-29T14:00:00.003-05:00

http://my-ap.us/cw3HK2

I've recently posted some more FREE images in the collection posted at The A&P Professor website.

FREE Image Library

Although it's just a beginning effort in a project that will take years to complete (if it really ever is "complete"), I do have quite a few images available in many different topics within A&P.

I've been focusing mainly on images that are not likely to already be present your textbook or lab manual. That's so you can supplement your course with these additional images. Perhaps you could use them in PowerPoint slides or online tutorials.

Some images are additional examples of specimens (such as tissues) where additional specimens are helpful (but would never all fit in a typical textbook).

http://my-ap.us/dsQ5hd

As always, if you have any specific requests for images I'll do my best to track them down for you and add them to the collection. And if you have any images you've found that you think I should add, let me know that, too!

And stay tuned for next week's announcement of the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology! I'll be posting links to resources you can use in your course to "bring the news home" to your students.

I'm predicting that the discovery of the hormone leptin will be the focus of this year's prize. Let's see if I called it correctly!

Looking at cilia

2010-07-07T14:00:00.011-05:00

In a recent article in The Scientist, Peter Satir points out that the cilium was the very first distinct organelle ever directly observed by scientists--van Leeuwenhoek noted their existence in the 1660s. But we are only now starting to fully understand these amazing and vital structures.

Until only the last decade or so, we thought that cilia were organs of cell motility--period. But as I've noted in recent editions of my textbooks (e.g. Anatomy & Physiology, p.82-83), we now know that cilia play a critical role in a cell's ability to sense its surroundings.

Not only is this sensory function useful for, well, er, mediating senses such as hearing and equilibrium, it's also critical for cells to figure where to go (and when) during embryonic development. In fact, it's been shown that situs inversus (the condition in which internal organs are flipped in their left-right orientation) is caused by a mutation affecting the structure of the primary cilium of developing cells in the embryo.

Cilia, it turns out, are centrally involved in a lot of different cell functions.

If you want a quick and interesting review of the history of cilia from one of the pioneers in cilia research, including answers to "why do we have to learn this stuff if I'm going to be a [insert health profession here]?," then check out this article:

Eyelashes Up Close
Peter Satir
The Scientist Volume 24 | Issue 7 | Page 30 2010-07-01
[Brief, well-illustrated review of what we know about cilia so far. Includes great graphics and useful references.]

For more FREE images of cilia you can use in your course, see The A&P Professor website's FREE Image Library of Cell Structures.
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Sex differences in body fat distribution

2010-06-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

When discussing sex differences in body fat distribution in my A&P course, I off-handedly refer to the roles of sex hormones in regulating the development that leads to these differences. But how much do we really know about how that works? Some recent work sheds a bit of light on that.

For example, a research review recently appearing in Obesity Reviews shows that indeed estrogen is responsible for promoting fat deposition in adult women.

Another recent article, this one in The International Journal of Obesity, suggests that there is a huge difference between the gene activity in male fat vs. female fat. That is, the anatomy and physiology of male fat and female fat differs far more than anyone has yet realized.

Why Do Women Store Fat Differently From Men?.
University of New South Wales.
ScienceDaily 4 March 2009. 17 May 2010
[Brief synopsis of a research review from Obesity Reviews]

Does oestrogen allow women to store fat more efficiently? A biological advantage for fertility and gestation
A. J. O'Sullivan
Obesity Reviews Volume 10, Issue 2, Date: March 2009, Pages: 168-177
[Research review]

Belly Fat or Hip Fat: It Really Is All in Your Genes, Says Researcher.
UT Southwestern Medical Center.
ScienceDaily 16 May 2010. 17 May 2010

A microarray analysis of sexual dimorphism of adipose tissues in high-fat-diet-induced obese mice.
K L Grove, et al.
International Journal of Obesity, 2010; DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2010.12
[Research article]

FREE image of cerebral tracts

2010-05-30T14:00:00.002-05:00

I recently posted a new image to the FREE Image Library at The A&P Professor website. This one is an amazing map of white matter tracts in the cerebrum that was made using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) tractography. Click on the thumbnail to see the large version of the image (and the source with copyright/use info).

This image could be used in a PowerPoint slide in your class to make a dramatic point about the structure and function of the brain, eh?

If you want some background on how this image was made:

Estimating the Confidence Level of White Matter Connections Obtained with MRI Tractography.
Gigandet X, Hagmann P, Kurant M, Cammoun L, Meuli R, et al.
PLoS ONE 2008 3(12): e4006.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004006

Want more information on the FREE Image Library at The A&P Professor website . . . and tips on how to use it? See my recent article in this blog.

New blog feature

2010-05-27T15:22:00.003-05:00

This blog now has a new feature . . . AnswerTips. If you double-click any word or phrase in this blog, a floating box will appear with additional information.

You can use this handy feature to:

look up the meaning of an unfamiliar term
find the acronym or abbreviation of a term (or, conversely, find the meaning of the acronym)
get a written and audio pronunciation guide for a term
find the word origin and word parts of a term
find related links

Try it right now by clicking this term . . . erythropoietin (used in a recent blog posting).

Now try it on ANY other word in this or any other post on this blog.

Yes . . . I've also added this feature to The A&P Professor website that serves as a resource-rich companion to this blog.

Oh, and another thing . . .YOU can add this feature to your online syllabus, class notes, blog, wiki, or other online resource for FREE! It's incredibly easy. You can automatically and instantly give your students access to audio pronunciations (especially useful for ESL students) and definitions to unfamiliar terms.

If you want to see how that works, check out this example from my course website: Learning Outline for Skin.

And did I mention that AnswerLink is free?

Just go to http://my-ap.us/bwkmpX to learn more.

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Latest in blood doping

2010-05-22T14:00:00.054-05:00

The subject of blood doping has come up a few times in this blog. Recently, we heard the latest in the Floyd Landis blood doping story . . . now, after years of vigorous (and costly) denials, cycling champion Landis has now admitted that he DID dope to prepare for competitions.

Landis states the he used EPO (erythropoietin) to increase his hematocrit to improve performance during cycling events.(EPO is pictured here.)

He has also stated that Lance Armstrong, another champion cyclist, gave him EPO and discussed his own blood doping experiences with Landis. Armstrong denies these claims.

Listen to the story from NPR:

Cyclist Floyd Landis Admits Doping, Accuses Armstrong

I have an article on doping at The A&P Professor website that includes a lot of resources, as well as tips on using the topic of doping to engage students in a deeper understanding of human structure and function.

Doping
K. Patton
The A&P Professor, accessed May 21, 2010
[Tips and resources regarding doping for A&P courses.]

Artificial life?

2010-05-20T18:22:00.000-05:00

Once they "get" the basic idea of molecular genetics, my A&P students become fascinated with those teeny-weeny molecules can have such huge impacts on the structure and function of the body. On the drive home from campus today, I heard a great story on NPR about the announcement by Craig Venter that his team has successfully created a living, reproducing cell using completely synthetic DNA.

They did this by using yeast cells to assemble smaller, synthesized bits of DNA and transferring it to living cells, which then reproduced the genome in offspring cells.

While this is a long way from the claims (and concerns) of "creating artificial life," it is a huge discovery.

If you want to hear more about this, listen to the story yourself at Scientists Reach Milestone On Way to Artificial Life.

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Encouraging students to start their library

2010-05-17T14:00:00.022-05:00

Today, I posted an entry at The A&P Student blog encouraging students to begin a personal library of professional books. I encouraged them to start with their A&P textbook.

Many students sell their textbooks back to the bookstore as a regular thing . . . without stopping to realize that SOME textbooks should be going into their individual professional library.

A professional library is the set of references that a student can begin to build NOW and continually add to throughout their professional career. Such individual libraries serve as indispensable tools to help professionals survive and excel in a health-related career.

For health professionals, the A&P textbook will be needed for upcoming health professions courses and clinicals/practicums. It will also serve well later, when students finally begin their careers.

You may want to post one or more of these links to share with your students:

Selling your textbook?
[Recent blog post from The A&P Student]

Do NOT sell your textbook!
[Blog post from The A&P Student from May 2009]

Your Professional Library
[Brief article from my Lion Den collection of Study Tips and Tools]

Nature and Science to merge?

2010-04-01T14:00:00.000-05:00

Will it be called Natural Science or Science Nature? You can vote on it when the esteemed journals Science and Nature combine to form a new, open-access journal.

Want to know more?

Science, Nature Team Up on New Journal
John Travis
Science NOW, 1 April 2010

I hope you all have a crazy April 1!

Crazy artificial genetish

2010-02-26T14:00:00.000-06:00

This is just crazy. I'm still not decided whether it's mad-scientist, what-could-they-possibly-be-thinking? crazy or it's brilliant, why-didn't-they-think-of-this-sooner, life-is-now-complete crazy.

According to a recent post at TheScientist.com, scientists have recently created an artificial system in which a bizarre, created ribosome reads codons in mRNA that are four bases long. You read the correctly . . . instead of reading bases three at a time (like in real life), these little monsters can read a whole different form of genetic language—or genetish, as author Matt Ridley calls it.

This breakthrough allows scientists to build a whole new system of creating proteins—one in which there could be up to 256 different possible amino acids available. This means that instead of being limited to using only the 22 naturally-occurring amino acids currently available for playing around to produce crazy new proteins, scientists can now also use synthetically modified amino acids with a variety of chemical properties. Modified or synthetic amino acids have no 3-base codons to represent them in natural genetish.

Just a few months ago, we were lauding the Nobel laureates who helped us figure out the structure of the ribosome. Now we're seeing the creation of artificial ribosomes that translate artificial genetish. I guess this is a huge breakthrough for chemists hoping to synthesize new types of proteins. It may also provide opportunities for synthetic biologists (scientists attempting to create artificial cells, tissues, and organisms). It certainly is a great starting point for a sci-fi novel!

Want to know more?

Genetic coding revamp
Jef Akst
TheScientist.com 14 Feb 2010
[Summary of development of a new genetic language.]

Some background from the primary literature:

A chemical toolkit for proteins — an expanded genetic code
Jianming Xie et al.
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 7, 775-782 (October 2006) doi:10.1038/nrm2005

An evolved ribosome for genetic code expansion
Caroline Köhrer et al.
Nature Biotechnology 25, 745 - 746 (2007) doi:10.1038/nbt0707-745

A network of orthogonal ribosome·mRNA pairs
Oliver Rackham et al.
Nature Chemical Biology 1, 159 - 166 (2005) doi:10.1038/nchembio719

FREE digestion images

2010-02-22T14:00:00.000-06:00

http://bit.ly/ciKu0T

Although there's still a lot more to go, I have recently updated the library of images for digestion in the FREE Image Library at The A&P Professor website.

FREE digestion images

In a previous post I outlined a few of the many ways you could use supplemental images like these. In this batch, there are some dramatic images of gall stones, laparoscopic views of digestive organs that I may use to spice up our classroom discussions a bit.

New discovery about sperm's ability to swim

2010-02-18T14:00:00.001-06:00

Scientists have found the trigger that gets sperm swimming in the female reproductive tract.

Sperm cells in the testis are pretty quiet . . . they don't seem very interested in swimming. However, after they are ejaculated into the female reproductive tract they become activated and get with the program. We already knew that the sperm cells need to raise their pH in order to kick into their swimming mode . . . but we didn't know how that is actually done.

In an article in the journal Cell, researchers report that they have the answer . . . one-way proton (H+) channels called Hv1 that open when sperm enter the female reproductive tract. Increasing the intracellular pH triggers the influx of calcium ions, which in turn activate the sperm flagellum. And they're off!

The increase in intracellular sperm pH also enables the sperm's acrosome to become activated and get ready to do its job, too.

Hv1 may be a key to triggering the hyperactivation and capacitation of sperm necessary for male fertility.

The researchers also found that a chemical similar to the active ingredient in marijuana inhibits the Hv1 channels and thus reduced fertility. Perhaps this explains low fertility among males who are chronic users of marijuana. And perhaps this opens the door to discovering chemicals that can be used to regulate the sperm fertility.

Want to know more?

Sperm's pore propulsion
Laura Sanders
Science News web edition : Thursday, February 4th, 2010
[Summary article includes a cool fluorescent micrograph.]

Acid extrusion from human spermatozoa is mediated by flagellar voltage-gated proton channel.
Lishko, P.V. et al.
Cell Volume 140, Issue 3, 327-337, 5 February 2010
[Original research article with some fabulous images in the graphical abstract and an excellent movie that features the scientists explaining their discovery. ]

Any dopes in Vancouver?

2010-02-14T14:00:00.001-06:00

If you're like me, I mention the concept of blood doping when covering the life cycle of red blood cells (RBCs) and the homeostatic mechanisms that regulate the population numbers of RBCs.

In 2008 and 2009, beginning around the time of the Beijing Olympics, I wrote a series of articles on doping in this blog and an extended version at The A&P Professor website.

I recently updated that extended doping article with a link to a recent news story from the Canadian Press service regarding the possibility of doping with the experimental anemia drug Hematide.

The doping issue is a great way to tie an unfortunately unending series of "real life" high-profile cases to the concepts of blood physiology.

Check out my Doping article, which includes several resources from major anti-doping agencies plus hints for incorporating doping issues in your A&P course.

You may also be interested in the PBS video Doping for Gold, which chronicles doping in a generation of European athletes. In the 1970s, female East German athletes came from nowhere to dominate international sport. Behind their success lay a secret, state-sponsored doping program that distributed untested steroids to athletes as young as 12. Many of these girls had no knowledge that they were being doped, and now, their damaged bodies and psyches deal with the cruelty of a government that pursued international glory at the expense of its most acclaimed citizens.

Prions are our friends

2010-02-10T14:00:00.008-06:00

OK, let's see if I can remember what I just read about prion proteins (PrPs) . . . I think I read that they can help us store memories. Oh yeah, that's right . . . and it turns out that they are needed to maintain the insulating myelin sheath around neurons that enables proper conduction of action potentials.

In my Anatomy & Physiology textbook I define a prion as

a term that is short for “proteinaceous infectious particles,” which are proteins that convert normal proteins of the nervous system into abnormal proteins, causing loss of nervous system function; the abnormal form of the protein also may be inherited; a newly discovered type of pathogen, not much is known about how the prion works; see bovine spongiform encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD)

Well, it turns out that prions are not all bad, after all. In a recent article in Nature Neuroscience, scientists report that certain prions are needed for the axonal signaling to Schwann cells that is needed to maintain the myelin sheath (pictured) and thus maintain normal conduction of nerve impulses.

In another finding reported in the journal Cell, scientists working with prions in sensory neurons of the sea slug found that the clumping of prions that we previously associated only with prion diseases plays a role in preserving memory. Typically, when prions clump, they for tangles called amyloid plaques in a cell. Apparently, the clumping of certain prions at synapses increase the length of time that a memory is stored at that synapse.

Researchers also found that the neurotransmitter serotonin promotes the formation of the memory-preserving clumps.

More work needs to be done, of course, but these findings may lead to the discovery of a central role for prions in retaining long-term memories.

Want to know more?

Axonal prion protein is required for peripheral myelin maintenance.
Bremer, J., et al.
Nature Neuroscience. 24 January 2010. doi:10.1038/nn.2483
[Original research article]

Prion protein is not all bad
Tina Hesman Saey
Science News February 13th, 2010; Vol.177 #4 (p. 17)
[Summary article describing the role of prions in maintaining the myelin sheath, as well as some general insights on the emerging new view of prions.]

Aplysia CPEB Can Form Prion-like Multimers in Sensory Neurons that Contribute to Long-Term Facilitation
Kausik Si, et al.
Cell Volume 140, Issue 3, 421-435, 5 February 2010
[Original research article included a nifty graphical summary of the central findings.]
Click here for an audio interview with the scientist about this breakthrough

Protein clumps like a prion, but proves crucial for long-term memory
Tina Hesman Saey
Science News web edition : Thursday, February 4th, 2010
[Summary article explaining new research findings and their importance.]

FREE respiratory images

2010-02-06T14:00:00.004-06:00

You already know that I'm slowly adding to the Free Image Library at The A&P Professor website. I've recently added a few images related to the Respiratory System to the collection.

All the images are either copyright-free or provide a free license to re-use them with permission. So you can use them to . . .

Add them to your PowerPoint slides.
Use them in handouts or outlines.
Use them in tests or worksheets. Many of them have numbered and/or unlabeled versions that make this easy for you.
Provide them to students to use for their reports, projects, or concept maps.
Use them as icons for your website or learning management system.
Illustrate case studies with medical images or clinical procedures.
Use pathology images to hammer home concepts of normal anatomy and physiology.
Make your own anatomy T-shirts using iron-on transfer paper to print the images.
Receive inspiration to become a scientific illustrator. (Then call me, I can use your help!)

Why not just use the images provided by the publisher of your textbook?

No textbook contains all the variations of how to draw a structure or concept. Use alternate images to help drive home a particular point.
Students aren't really learning their anatomy and physiology if they memorize a particular diagram. Using alternate diagrams on worksheets and tests pushes them to learn where things really are in the body. . . not where they happen to be labeled in the book.
Textbooks must conserve space to remain a practical tool. There are many images that would be great to show students . . . such as medical images, portraits of A&P heroes or sources of eponyms, or amazing micrographs . . . that are simply not appropriate for a beginning-level textbook.

This image of an iron lung is not appropriate for a textbook, perhaps, but it might help you explain the concept of how pressure affects the mechanics of breathing.

Please send me your ideas for images that you need (maybe I can find them for you).

I'll be updating you when I add more topics to the Free Image Library.

If you have any suggestions for additional subjects for images, let me know and I'll try to find them for you.

Lipid rafts

2010-02-02T14:00:00.008-06:00

Having lived most of my life near the river banks at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, I guess I have a special place in my heart for rafts. A few years ago, when scientists discovered organized domains within cell membranes and named them rafts, I guess it all felt pretty obvious to me . . . and comfortable.

I was thinking about rafts today when I received this month's issue of The Scientist, which features a cover story on the evolution of the lipid raft concept.

My Life on a Raft
Kai Simmons
The Scientist Volume 24 Issue 2 Page 24 February 2010
[Brief article by a pioneer in the discovery and study of lipid rafts]

In my textbook Anatomy & Physiology I define a membrane raft as . . .

"a structure made up of groupings of molecules (cholesterol, certain phospholipids, proteins) within a cell membrane that travel together on the surface of the cell, something like a log raft on a lake; also called lipid raft"

When I first added the concept of lipid rafts to our introductory chapter on cellular structure a number of years ago, some of my colleagues were a bit put off by this addition. Some reviewers suggested that I drop it because it wasn't, well, standard in the texts with which they were familiar.

First, I think that when we form our own cohesive idea of what a cell is, it's hard to break that apart easily to accommodate changes and (especially) radical new concepts. It's even harder to imagine that any new concepts of cell structure and function have any place in an introductory conversation about cells.

Second, it isn't always immediately clear that a beginning student is really going to encounter significant applications of such a new concept in their studies . . . or in their practice.

With lipid rafts, the concept was used several times in other parts of the book to understand such central ideas as endocytosis. As a science, we continue to learn about significant medical application opportunities, such as a possible effective therapy for HIV infection and other viral conditions (for example, see New non-drug fix for HIV).

Similarly, come colleagues question my textbook's coverage of the cytoskeleton and motor molecules, when this dynamic system seems to play a basic, central (and increasingly well understood) role in many mechanisms typically covered in a beginning A&P course . . . not to mention applications in clinical science.

So updating a textbook can be quite challenging when it comes to deciding how to handle new ideas that come along.

When, if ever, is a new biological concept ready to be put into an introductory textbook? If one puts it in early, then some users are alienated by the unfamiliar. Some may even be suspect of something different than the orthodox and time-tested A&P curriculum. If one waits until everyone has already become familiar with the new idea, then isn't it a bit late to be first introducing into a textbook?

For me, the central question is, "Do textbook authors have any responsibility to introduce new concepts into the curriculum?" I think the answer is yes. Of course, curriculum issues are guided by more than just textbook content. Many agents interacting on many levels help guide the evolution of curriculum in anatomy and physiology (and any other discipline). I think textbook authors are in an unusual . . . and sometimes scary . . . position of offering some of the latest ideas available.

Of course, introducing additional concepts has to be balanced with the concern that too much information, no matter how up-to-date or relevant, may make it hard for the beginning learner to establish a meaningful foundation upon which to build later, fuller understanding of human structure and function. Another difficult and scary task, then, is to determine what is essential at the beginning level and what can be held off for a later time when the additional information will be more easily incorporated into a student's understanding.

I'd love to hear your comments! What is the role of the textbook author when in comes to incorporating new or changed concepts in the A&P curriculum? How can one determine which concepts are better left for later learning?

NOTE: Get some FREE images of lipid rafts to use for your class at The A&P Professor FREE Image Library.

FREE Neuroscience Workshop at Univ of Missouri

2010-01-27T14:00:00.008-06:00

Those of you with easy access to the heart of America (Missouri) may be interested in the

Fourth Annual Summer Workshop on ‘Experiments and Models for Teaching Undergraduate Neuroscience’, 4-6 Aug 2010

I attended this workshop the summer before last a had a great time . . . and I learned a lot. Besides some interesting perspectives and a really cool earthworm-based lab experiment I was able to expand my network of other colleagues interested in learning better ways to teach. Besides the actual hands-on learning and demonstrations, you'll get a rare chance to observe the recordings of action potentials in a state of the art neuroscience laboratory.

The University of Missouri—Columbia (MU) Colleges of Engineering and Biological Sciences are sponsoring this two-day workshop focused on novel curriculum development in neuroscience that will be held Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, August 4, 5 & 6, 2010, on the Columbia campus. The Workshop is targeted to undergraduate faculty from biological sciences, psychology, physics and engineering with an interest in teaching and learning more about neuroscience.

The workshop was initiated by a National Science Foundation grant to MU to develop undergraduate curriculum in the area of computational neuroscience. This is the fourth time we are offering this annual workshop, incorporating input from past years.

For more information, go to
http://engineering.missouri.edu/neuro/outreach-programs/neuro-workshop.php

If you are interested in applying to the workshop, send an email stating your interest to my new friend Satish Nair at MU: NairS@missouri.edu

FREE cardio images for your A&P course

2010-01-27T14:00:00.007-06:00

Although the images in the textbook I use are excellent, I often want to supplement my presentations or outlines with additional images.

For example, a photo of Karl Landsteiner working in his lab can add a bit to the discussion about blood types. An unlabeled heart diagram might be just the thing I need to add an alternate question to my online test bank. Dramatic micrographs, medical images, and animations can spark and hold the interest of my students.

I've recently added a few more FREE images to the Image Library at The A&P Professor website in these areas:

Click on any link above to get to these images.

This is a work in progress, so I don't have a huge number of images yet. Check back frequently to look for more images as I add them.

If you have any additional images to suggest, send the source URL to me and I'll add it. If you have images of your own that you are willing to donate to the image library, let me know that, too. Just contact me at kevin@theapprofessor.org

Now's the time for FREE student bookmarks!

2010-01-24T14:00:00.001-06:00

It's time once again to get our students thinking about ways to organize their time and implement some study strategies and learning shortcuts so they can survive and thrive in a new semester of A&P.

What better way to start a new semester than with the blog that's all about student survival and success . . . The A&P Student?

Just send them to theAPstudent.org for tips, tricks, resources, and secrets to success in A&P.

To help them find it (and remember it) . . . and start off the semester by giving them gifts . . . why not order some FREE eyeball bookmarks to give them? Just go to the EYEBALL BOOKMARK page at The A&P Professor to order yours now!

Even if your students don't use the blog with all the FREE learning resources, at least they'll have a cool anatomy bookmark to use, eh?

And don't forget to tell them about the handy Survival Guide For Anatomy And Physiology: Tips, Techniques And Shortcuts

More graduate biology courses at the HAPS Conference

2010-01-24T14:00:00.000-06:00

OK, so you missed out on that cool cadaver class presented by HAPS Institute (HAPS-I) in San Diego this winter . . . because it filled up faster than I could tell you about it! But now's your second chance for some great graduate biology courses especially for teachers of human anatomy and physiology courses:

1. Advances in Anatomy and Physiology 2010 (Ellen Arnestad and Kevin Patton)

2. Advanced Cardiovascular Physiology: The Heart at Work and at Rest (Robert Carroll)

3. Concepts in Human Embryology (Valerie O'Loughlin)

4. Molecular and Cellular Basis of Disease (Kelly McDonald)

These are great courses that feature both useful content about human A&P and experience with best practices in teaching these subjects. These are courses that are MEANINGFUL to what you do every day in your own teaching. And you'll be there with folks just like you . . . who teach secondary, college, and university A&P.

Each course earns you 2 graduate credits from the Biology Department of the University of Washington (Seattle).

These courses begin with online work on April 13, involve seminars and/or workshops during the Denver HAPS Conference (May 29 - June 3), and continue with online work through August 19. Each syllabus has additional details. Conference registration (plus lodging, meals, and transportation, if needed) is required (in addition to HAPS-I course fees).

Want to know more?

Details and syllabi for the HAPS Institute courses linked to the HAPS Annual Conference in Denver are posted at http://www.hapsweb.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=195
For general information about the HAPS Institute program, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), explore the links at http://www.hapsweb.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=184

Remember . . . THESE COURSES FILL EARLY. So you want to get on this ASAP. I mean it this time!

In fact, some spots have already been taken by past HAPS-I Scholars and by members of the HAPS-I Update email list, who all received notice of these course openings a few days ago. (If you want prior notice of HAPS-I courses, go to http://www.hapsweb.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=234 to subscribe to either the HAPS-I Scholars Google Group or the HAPS-I Update Google Group.)

Registration is now open at http://www.hapsweb.org/displayconvention.cfm?conventionnbr=7898

For more information on the HAPS Annual Conference in Denver, go to http://www.hapsweb.org/displayconvention.cfm?conventionnbr=7450

EARLY BIRD CONFERENCE RATES APPLY UNTIL 2/1/2010!

Another posterior pituitary hormone

2009-12-09T14:00:00.001-06:00

A recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science shows that that the posterior pituitary (neurohypophysis ) secretes another hormone besides antidiuretic hormone (ADH; vasopressin) and oxytocin (OT). It is the hormone secretin.

Secretin is already known to be secreted from the intestinal lining, having a variety of effects in regulating stomach and pancreatic function during the digestive process. New findings indicate, however, that secretin is also secreted by the posterior pituitary.

Neurohypophysial release of secretin is triggered by plasma hyperosmolality—as in dehydration of the body. Secretin then promotes the expression and release of ADH, which in turn promotes water conservation by the kidney. Secretin also appears to have direct water-conserving effects in the kidney as well.

Want to know more?

Secretin as a neurohypophysial factor regulating body water homeostasis
Jessica Y. S. Chu, et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science September 15, 2009 vol. 106 no. 37 15961-15966
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0903695106
[Abstract of the recent paper.]

Highlights From The Literature
Physiology 2009 24:322-324
doi:10.1152/physiol.00037.2009
[Summary of the significance of this discovery.]

Click here for a FREE 3D see-through image of the pituitary's location that you can use in your course.

Too late for cadaver class!

2009-12-09T14:00:00.000-06:00

I had hoped to tell you all about a great new course offered by HAPS Institute . . . Anatomy of the Abdomen and Thorax . . . but it filled up in less than half a day!

Lucky for us (and the dozen or so folks on the waitlist), this is the first in a series of several courses that center around a weekend workshop in a cadaver lab with expert dissectors.

The Anatomy of the Abdomen and Thorax course held in February in San Diego is just the first in a series of courses that will be held at various locations in North America in the coming months and years.

These courses carry three graduate credits from the University of Washington (Seattle) biology department. All HAPS-I courses are meant for folks who already teach anatomy and physiology (high-school through graduate levels) fill in their background in various topics within human biology . . . or simply to brush up on the lastest concepts. Even if you already have a graduate degree and "don't need the credit" you'll find these courses to be both fun and useful.

All HAPS-I courses also involve emerging methods of active learning and thus showcase methods of teaching and learning that participants can adapt into their own courses.

Want to know more about HAPS-I and its courses? Click here for more information.

However, when new HAPS-I courses open up . . . ACT QUICKLY because they DO fill quickly!

Bacterial microbiomes on human skin

2009-11-08T14:00:00.024-06:00

Nearly a year ago, I shared results of a study of the bacteria that live on human skin, including these fun facts:

Females have a higher diversity of bacteria on their hands than males . . . perhaps due to a slightly higher skin pH in women, or perhaps the mix of sebum, sweat, and lotions, or maybe even hormonal differences . . . they couldn't really say for sure at this point

Females have more bacteria living under the surface film of skin than males

4, 742 different species of bacteria were found in the whole group of subjects

The species each of has on our hands is a rather unique mix--only 5 (out of 4,742) species were found on every hand in the group

Most of the 150 or so different species of bacteria found on skin of an individual hand are beneficial or harmless . . . only a small minority are pathogenic

The diversity of bacteria differs between a person's right hand and left hand

Hand washing (as practiced in this group) did not remove many of the bacteria (or the populations recovered rapidly after washing)

Recently, another study was published that gives us an even more complete picture of the micro-ecology of human skin. The report, published online a few days ago by the journal Science, provides an inventory of what organisms live where on the human skin.

A few fun facts about the bacteria, viruses, and fungi of the human skin gleaned from the new study:

Microbes on the skin outnumber human cells by at least 10 times (about 100 trillion microbial symbionts)
Microbial community composition is determined primarily by habitat (well, of course!)
The composition of microbial communities varies widely from one person to another
The compostion of microbial communities for an individual human do not vary much over time
Some locations of the skin harbor more diverse communities than even the mouth or gut

Want to know more?

Bacterial Community Variation in Human Body Habitats Across Space and Time.
Elizabeth K. Costello, et al.
Science Express, 5 November 2009, online .
doi: 10.1126/science.1177486
[Recent study on human flora]

Bacteria Flourish in Favorite Ecosystems on the Human Body
Laura Sanders
Science News November 5, 2009
[Nice summary of the study's importance and implications]

Variation In Bacterial Populations From Person To Person Surprises Researchers
C. Paddock
Medical News Today 6 November 2009
[Press release about the new study]

Skin Ecology
K. Patton
The A&P Professor 18 November 2008
[My previous article on the topic. Includes links to other articles.]

Why cells cooperate

2009-11-08T14:00:00.017-06:00

Here's a nice little "animated clay" video that zeroes in on the "society of cells" concept that lies at the heart of homeostasis. Because it goes on to emphasize the role of reproductive cells in a multicellular organism, it may be useful to help our A&P students connect reproduction to the concept of overall body homeostasis.

I saw this video on public radio's Science Friday website, where they have a weekly video recommendation.

The video comes from a collection of videos at creaturecast.org that are truly amazing. Not very many directly relate to human anatomy and physiology . . . but, wow, they are fascinating. For example, a recent posting discusses how mitochondria and other erstwhile endosymbionts can play a variety of roles such as acting as lenses for simple animals. I teach the serial endosymbiosis theory (SET) in my A&P course . . . so this little factoid may help spice up that discussion.

So watch the FREE video about cell cooperation in a multicellular organism and let me know what you think!

CreatureCast Episode 2 from Casey Dunn on Vimeo.

H1N1 teaching moments

2009-11-08T14:00:00.013-06:00

Although the typical A&P class is not focused primarily on pathology, we certainly do use pathology frequently as a tool to illustrate "normal" structure and function by looking at what goes wrong in injury and disease. This works especially well when a disease or injury . . . or affected celebrity . . . is in the current news. The current pandemic H1N1 outbreak gives us opportunities to teach some important concepts:

what do "public health" scientists do, and how do they do it?
what is a virus and how does it affect cell and body function?
how do vaccines protect the body?
why do some infections have a greater affect on some people than others?
how are viral infections spread? how are they treated?

A recent news release posted at Science Daily summarizes a striking issue related to the flu vaccinations. It highlights a paper recently published in The Lancet, which concludes that vaccination campaigns can be underminded by the public's tendency to link coincidental health events with vaccination campaigns.

Haven't we all see and heard of such associations? They are even promoted by some otherwise trustworthy media outlets. For example, many people are convinced of the strong relationship between certain vaccine preservatives and autism . . . even though thorough scientific investigation has shown no link. An "outbreak" of Guillain–Barré Syndrome during the 1976-77 swine flu vaccination program turns out to be consistent with the number of people expected to contract this syndrome whether or not a vaccination program occurred.

In short, people get sick all the time and we should not automatically conclude that coincidental events are necessarily cause-and-effect scenarios . . . or even related at all. And yet . . . we do.

This information is useful in teaching about how the scientific method can be used to answer questions. In addition, the CDC's current surveillance methodology can be explored to illustrate how a scientific approach can be used in practical ways to watch for actual problems that could arise in a vaccination program.

In a somewhat related development, psychologists recently reported in Psychological Science that seeing and hearing a person sneeze can trigger fear or a "doom-and-gloom" attitude in healthy individuals. I guess we should be cautious when exposed to sneezes, but the study showed that we tend to take such stimuli far more seriously than we realized.

Want to know more?

Pandemic Flu Vaccine Campaigns May Be Undermined By Coincidental Medical Events.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center ScienceDaily. (2009, November 6)
[News release summarizing conclusions of a scientific study]

Importance of background rates of disease in assessment of vaccine safety during mass immunisation with pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccines
Black, S. et al.
The Lancet (early online publication) 31 October 2009
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61877-8
[Original peer-reviewed article]

Sneezes Provoke Fears Beyond Illness
Karen Hopkin
Sceintific American Online November 4, 2009
[Link to the podcast version or read the text summary]

[Here's an interesting clip to add to your PowerPoint or course web page . . . the first filmed sneeze ever recorded! It was made with Thomas Edison's kinetoscope and was the first motion picture copyrighted in the United States. Click here to see it http://bit.ly/j0Mzf ]

Revisiting the spleen

2009-10-26T14:00:00.008-05:00

I'll never forget that snowy day all those years ago when my friend Keith slammed his sled into a laundry pole and ruptured his spleen. Perhaps as an expression of our shock and concern for him as he lay in his hospital bed after his splenectomy, we spent an afternoon wondering to each other, "what IS a spleen . . . and how can you live without one?"

As we all know, the spleen has a number of functions including acting as a blood reservoir and as a site of lymphocyte development and activity. Research published a few months ago has now expanded our understanding of this odd organ.

According to the new research, another function of the spleen is to serve as a reservoir of monocytes that can be called upon during tissue injury in other locations of the body. The splenic monocytes, which far outnumber the monocytes circulating in the bloodstream, form clusters in the cords of red pulp just under the capsule (wall of the organ). From there, they move in a group out of the spleen and to the site of injury. There they help remove and repair damaged tissue.

This is a FREE image (click for source).
You can use it in your course.

Want to know more?

Identification of Splenic Reservoir Monocytes and Their Deployments to Inflammatory Sites
Swirski, F. K. et al.
Science 31 July 2009: Vol. 325, no. 5940, pp. 612-616
DOI: 10.1126/science.1175202
[The original research article. A particularly clear abstract.]

Dispensible But Not Irrelevant
Jia T. et al.
Science 31 July 2009: Vol. 325. no. 5940, pp. 549 - 550
DOI: 10.1126/science.1178329
[Editor's summary of the implications of the original research. Full text version includes a great diagram of this newly discovered role of the spleen.]

Finally, the Spleen Gets Some Respect
N. Angier
The New York Times 3 August 2009
[Article summarizing the new findings.]

While we're on the subject of the spleen, have you seen the images of a pelvic spleen published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine? The piece in the NEJM briefly documents the case of a rare condition in which the spleen my drop into the pelvic cavity when there is problem with the suspensory ligaments of the spleen.

Pelvic Spleen: Images in Clinical Medicine
Tseng and Chou
New England Journal of Medicine 361 (13): 1291, Figure 1
[Images. Includes link to FREE PowerPoint slide for subscribers]

For a few FREE images of the spleen, go to the Lymphatic Image Library at The A&P Professor website

Keeping time

2009-10-26T13:59:00.022-05:00

Finally . . . a physiological explanation for why I have such hard time keeping time when trying to dance. Any of you who have seen me on the dance floor at a Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) conference know what I mean!

It turns out that there are time-keeping neurons in our brains. Specifically in the prefrontal cortex and striatum of the cerebrum. Discovered recently in the brains of monkeys by researchers at MIT, these time-keeping neurons fire consistently at certain rhythms . . . thus helping our brains to figure out when things are happening. This helps us with rhythmic activities, of course, but also with any number of tasks and memories that rely on knowing what came first, in what order, and so on.

Researchers speculate that damage to these neurons, or damage to the mechanisms that read the timing pattern, may contribute to disorders (such as Parkinson Disease) that involve ill-timed movements and other functions. And perhaps may explain why Kevin has a such a hard time dancing.

In their paper, researchers failed to speculate whether this is why A&P students know exactly when to start slamming their books shut moments before a class is scheduled to end.

Want to know more?

Neural representation of time in cortico-basal ganglia circuits
Jin, DZ et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 22 Oct 2009

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0909881106
[Original research article]

Time-keeping Brain Neurons Discovered

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2009, October 23).
[Press release summarizing the context of the discovery.]

Why the Golgi apparatus looks so funny

2009-10-19T14:00:00.032-05:00

Did you ever wonder why the Golgi apparatus looks so odd, compared to other membranous organelles of the cell? I mean, really, wouldn't you think that the forces causing other membrane-bound structures to form more of a globular shape would cause the cisternae (sacs) of the Golgi apparatus to be more, well, round?

A few days ago, the journal Cell published an article that answers that question . . . revealing an elegant mechanism resulting from the primary function of the Golgi apparatus.

As we know, the Golgi apparatus "processes and packages" proteins that arrive from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by way of ER vesicles. The central structure of the organelles is the Golgi stack or dictyosome, which resembles a stack of hollow pancakes. Vesicles pinch off of the first cisterna (cis face) and move to the next cisterna, then the next, and finally to the final cisterna (trans face). Then a vesicle pinches off and moves to the plasma membrane, where it fuses and releases (secretes) it contents to the outside of the cell (exocytosis). Click here for a simplified video summary.

The new data suggest that the budding of vesicles and their movement toward the plasma membrane rely on the function of a protein called GOLPH3. This tiny protein connects special phospholipid molecules [PtdIns(4)P] in the Golgi membrane to myoglobin molecules (MYO18A). The myoglobin, in turn, is attached to F-actin filaments of cytoskeleton. Well, you know what that means, right? Yes . . . the myoglobin is a motor molecule that pulls the attached Golgi membrane along the F-actin filament, stretching it out into its familiar elongated shape. Then thwap! . . . a vesicle pinches off and is carried away.

In short, the Golgi membranes flatten out because they are being pulled outward by the cytoskeleton in a process that produces budding of vesicles. As simple as that! Now, when you're describing this amazing little organelle in your A&P class, you have a new little twist to add to the story!

By the way, the terms Golgi complex and Golgi apparatus, which are synonyms, are among the rare eponyms that appear in theTerminologia Histologica (TH). As you recall, the TH is the "official" list of microscopic anatomy terms produced by the FICAT (Federative International Committee on Anatomical Terminology). It is named for its discoverer Camillo Golgi, who was ridiculed for believing it to be a distinct organelle.

(For a video on international terminology that you can share with students, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94PU6J3Y9mA)

Now for the next question to be answered . . . what mechanism pulled Golgi's mustache out into that crazy handlebar shape?

GOLPH3 bridges phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate and actomyosin to stretch and shape the golgi to promote budding.
Dippold, H.C. et al.
Cell 139 (Oct. 16) 2009.
DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2009.07.052
[The original paper. The "supplemental material" icludes a video showing the stretching of the Golgi]

Golgi's Job Stretches it Thin
Lisa Grossman
Science News October 19, 2009
[Summary article explains the context and importance of the discovery]

[For more FREE images of the Golgi apparatus, visit the FREE Image Library at The A&P Professor website.]

Flu facts . . . the basics about H1N1

2009-10-19T14:00:00.030-05:00

The CDC tells us that there is widespread 2009 novel H1N1 influenza activity in 41 states and that the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to increase.

Many of you have begun implementing strategies on your campus to minimize the spread of the flu, including self-isolation of faculty, staff, and students with flu-like symptoms. The CDC suggests that nearly all flu cases right now are 2009 novel H1N1 infections.

Recently, I published a brief article in a publication called The Global Pages on my home campus that lays out the basic science needed to understand what's going on. It's not a detailed report of the current status or all the complicated virology and epidemiology involved. It's just a basic foundation of essential terms and key concepts about viruses, public health management, and this particular flu strain. And why it's not really "swine flu" in the strictest sense, anyway. It's directed at the average student (not particularly science students).

I'm sharing it because it may help you answer those inevitable questions that your students may have. Feel free to share it with your students.

Novel H1N1--A Global Health Threat
Kevin Patton
The Global Pages Vol. 10 (No. 1) Fall 2009 St. Charles Community College
[A PDF-format handout that you can read and/or share with your students. Click here for a SWF-format file that you can embed in a PowerPoint slide or a course web page.]

Action potential in action

2009-10-19T14:00:00.001-05:00

I recently found a really nice FREE animation of the action potential. It's from Harvard's outreach program and it does a great job of breaking down the essential processes of this hard-to-learn, hard-to-teach concept.

I've just added it to my own course outline so that my students can access it easily. One might also use it during class, or a tutoring session with students, to reinforce understanding of the action potential's mechanisms. Hmmm . . . this could also be a good thing to go through with my students in my A&P 1 Supplement course, eh?

Action Potential Animation
[Interactive animation]

Action Potential Video
[Another nice, animated explanation of the action potential]

Action Potential Diagram
[A free diagram of the action potential. Compares the ideal "schematic" to a recorded action potential.]

Virtual autopsies

2009-10-12T14:00:00.003-05:00

Wow, this goes on my wish list for the holiday season. Take a look at the Virtual Autopsy system at visualiseringscenter.se

After scanning a body, users can manipulate the images on what my editor, Jeff Downing, calls "an iPhone on steroids." It's a big table-top, touch-screen monitor that shows high-resolution 3D images of the scanned body.

The creators tout their project as a potential solution to situations where traditional autopsies cannot be performed (for example, in areas where cultural taboos prohibit it). It can also be a complement to traditional autopsies because it can show things that may not be visible during the routine type of examination.

Besides the gee-whiz, ain't that cool factor you'll experience when you check it out, you may want to consider showing one of the FREE video clips to your students to show them what's happening out there on the cutting edge of anatomy applications. This might be a great bit to add to your "first lecture" dog-and-pony show to get your students engaged and excited about human A&P.

There are also some cool case study ideas included at the demo page.

If you get one of these things, let me know. I want to come and play with it!

Visual Analogy Guides

2009-10-12T14:00:00.002-05:00

Well, it's "book order" time here at my college and I'm going to be recommending a series of student supplements for A&P that I've found to be really, really helpful. The Visual Analogy Guide series has been used by my students for a couple of years now and my students love them.

Created by my friend Paul Krieger at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC), the Visual Analogy Guides really meet the students where they are at to help them master some of those little tricks for learning the core concepts of an A&P course.

Using his considerable skills as an illustrator and his great talent as a teacher, Paul has put together some great tools that help students focus their study time by using visual and kinesthetic processes to help them learn "the hard parts" of A&P.

Check out his video, in which he explains how the Visual Analogy Guides work.

Ribosome scientists win 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2009-10-07T08:23:00.007-05:00

EXTRA! EXTRA! This news just in from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences . . .

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded jointly to

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge,
United Kingdom

Thomas A. Steitz
Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

Ada E. Yonath
Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

"for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome"

As I've mentioned in yesterday's "extra edition" of The A&P Professor, as well as in previous posts, I love to tie major awards and other news about major discoveries in the recent history of science into what we are actually learning in A&P class. And the real people behind these discoveries.

Wow, this morning's announcement for the chemistry prize couldn't have been better timed. Not long ago we wrestled with the story of protein synthesis and my students slowly realized the critical role of the ribosome's structure in that story.

An understanding of the ribosome's innermost workings is important for a scientific understanding of life. This knowledge can be put to a practical and immediate use; many of today's antibiotics cure various diseases by blocking the function of bacterial ribosomes. Without functional ribosomes, bacteria cannot survive. This is why ribosomes are such an important target for new antibiotics.

This year's Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have all generated 3D models that show how different antibiotics bind to the ribosome. These models are now used by scientists in order to develop new antibiotics, directly assisting the saving of lives and decreasing humanity's suffering.

This gives us an opportunity to show how understanding the "basic science" that are teaching translates (ahem) into applications in "the real world."

Want to know more?

"Public" summary
[PDF article intended for the general reader; does a good job of recapping the role of the ribosome within the big picture of biology, includes some nice graphics that you can use in your class plus links for further reading]

Scientific Background
[PDF article directed at those of use with some science background; well-written summary of the ribosome and the evolution of scientific discovery leading to the awarding of this prize; includes some good graphics; comprehensive list of scientific references]

Other resources

Nobel's "useful links and further reading"

FREE image of ribosome's role in translation

FREE image of detailed ribosome structure

Additional FREE ribosome images

NOTE: I apologize to my email subscribers who received two posts yesterday instead of one. I've adjusted the timing so you should only get one delivery on these rare occasions when I have an "immediate" post to send to you.

{Some content of this post came from the Nobel organization}

2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

2009-10-05T09:39:00.003-05:00

I love the sense of awe that I get on those brisk Monday mornings in October when NPR announces the first of the Nobel Prizes . . . the prize for Physiology or Medicine. I'm struck by the truly groundbreaking nature of the discoveries that win prizes. No less this year, with the prize going jointly to three U.S. scientists for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.

We've recently covered the whole molecular genetics/protein synthesis/cell life cycle suite in our A&P class . . . so my students will be ready to hear about the concepts for which the prize was awarded today. I like to show them that science is dynamic and evolving, with new discoveries made every day. These "big" announcements further underscore that what they are learning is fresh and relevant.

Hmmm . . . this gives me an idea for a bonus question on the midterm exam!

Today, I have a special longer post today, so that you can walk into the classroom TODAY ready to discuss what some of them may have already heard about. If you stick with me until the end, I have a link to an image that you can use TODAY in your class!

This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to three scientists who have solved a major problem in biology: how the chromosomes can be copied in a complete way during cell divisions and how they are protected against degradation. The Nobel Laureates have shown that the solution is to be found in the ends of the chromosomes – the telomeres – and in an enzyme that forms them – telomerase.

The long, thread-like DNA molecules that carry our genes are packed into chromosomes, the telomeres being the caps on their ends. Elizabeth Blackburn and Jack Szostak discovered that a unique DNA sequence in the telomeres protects the chromosomes from degradation. Carol Greider and Elizabeth Blackburn identified telomerase, the enzyme that makes telomere DNA. These discoveries explained how the ends of the chromosomes are protected by the telomeres and that they are built by telomerase.

If the telomeres are shortened, cells age. Conversely, if telomerase activity is high, telomere length is maintained, and cellular senescence is delayed. This is the case in cancer cells, which can be considered to have eternal life. Certain inherited diseases, in contrast, are characterized by a defective telomerase, resulting in damaged cells. The award of the Nobel Prize recognizes the discovery of a fundamental mechanism in the cell, a discovery that has stimulated the development of new therapeutic strategies.

The mysterious telomere

The chromosomes contain our genome in their DNA molecules. As early as the 1930s, Hermann Muller (Nobel Prize 1946) and Barbara McClintock (Nobel Prize 1983) had observed that the structures at the ends of the chromosomes, the so-called telomeres, seemed to prevent the chromosomes from attaching to each other. They suspected that the telomeres could have a protective role, but how they operate remained an enigma.

When scientists began to understand how genes are copied, in the 1950s, another problem presented itself. When a cell is about to divide, the DNA molecules, which contain the four bases that form the genetic code, are copied, base by base, by DNA polymerase enzymes. However, for one of the two DNA strands, a problem exists in that the very end of the strand cannot be copied. Therefore, the chromosomes should be shortened every time a cell divides – but in fact that is not usually the case (Fig 1).

Both these problems were solved when this year's Nobel Laureates discovered how the telomere functions and found the enzyme that copies it.

Telomere DNA protects the chromosomes

In the early phase of her research career, Elizabeth Blackburn mapped DNA sequences. When studying the chromosomes of Tetrahymena, a unicellular ciliate organism, she identified a DNA sequence that was repeated several times at the ends of the chromosomes. The function of this sequence, CCCCAA, was unclear. At the same time, Jack Szostak had made the observation that a linear DNA molecule, a type of minichromosome, is rapidly degraded when introduced into yeast cells.

Blackburn presented her results at a conference in 1980. They caught Jack Szostak's interest and he and Blackburn decided to perform an experiment that would cross the boundaries between very distant species (Fig 2). From the DNA of Tetrahymena, Blackburn isolated the CCCCAA sequence. Szostak coupled it to the minichromosomes and put them back into yeast cells. The results, which were published in 1982, were striking – the telomere DNA sequence protected the minichromosomes from degradation. As telomere DNA from one organism, Tetrahymena, protected chromosomes in an entirely different one, yeast, this demonstrated the existence of a previously unrecognized fundamental mechanism. Later on, it became evident that telomere DNA with its characteristic sequence is present in most plants and animals, from amoeba to man.

An enzyme that builds telomeres

Carol Greider, then a graduate student, and her supervisor Blackburn started to investigate if the formation of telomere DNA could be due to an unknown enzyme. On Christmas Day, 1984, Greider discovered signs of enzymatic activity in a cell extract. Greider and Blackburn named the enzyme telomerase, purified it, and showed that it consists of RNA as well as protein (Fig 3). The RNA component turned out to contain the CCCCAA sequence. It serves as the template when the telomere is built, while the protein component is required for the construction work, i.e. the enzymatic activity. Telomerase extends telomere DNA, providing a platform that enables DNA polymerases to copy the entire length of the chromosome without missing the very end portion.

Telomeres delay ageing of the cell

Scientists now began to investigate what roles the telomere might play in the cell. Szostak's group identified yeast cells with mutations that led to a gradual shortening of the telomeres. Such cells grew poorly and eventually stopped dividing. Blackburn and her co-workers made mutations in the RNA of the telomerase and observed similar effects in Tetrahymena. In both cases, this led to premature cellular aging – senescence. In contrast, functional telomeres instead prevent chromosomal damage and delay cellular senescence. Later on, Greider's group showed that the senescence of human cells is also delayed by telomerase. Research in this area has been intense and it is now known that the DNA sequence in the telomere attracts proteins that form a protective cap around the fragile ends of the DNA strands.

An important piece in the puzzle – human aging, cancer, and stem cells

These discoveries had a major impact within the scientific community. Many scientists speculated that telomere shortening could be the reason for aging, not only in the individual cells but also in the organism as a whole. But the aging process has turned out to be complex and it is now thought to depend on several different factors, the telomere being one of them. Research in this area remains intense.

Most normal cells do not divide frequently, therefore their chromosomes are not at risk of shortening and they do not require high telomerase activity. In contrast, cancer cells have the ability to divide infinitely and yet preserve their telomeres. How do they escape cellular senescence? One explanation became apparent with the finding that cancer cells often have increased telomerase activity. It was therefore proposed that cancer might be treated by eradicating telomerase. Several studies are underway in this area, including clinical trials evaluating vaccines directed against cells with elevated telomerase activity.

Some inherited diseases are now known to be caused by telomerase defects, including certain forms of congenital aplastic anemia, in which insufficient cell divisions in the stem cells of the bone marrow lead to severe anemia. Certain inherited diseases of the skin and the lungs are also caused by telomerase defects.

In conclusion, the discoveries by Blackburn, Greider and Szostak have added a new dimension to our understanding of the cell, shed light on disease mechanisms, and stimulated the development of potential new therapies.

Elizabeth H. Blackburn has US and Australian citizenship. She was born in 1948 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. After undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne, she received her PhD in 1975 from the University of Cambridge, England, and was a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University, New Haven, USA. She was on the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, and since 1990 has been professor of biology and physiology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Carol W. Greider is a US citizen and was born in 1961 in San Diego, California, USA. She studied at the University of California in Santa Barbara and in Berkeley, where she obtained her PhD in 1987 with Blackburn as her supervisor. After postdoctoral research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, she was appointed professor in the department of molecular biology and genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore in 1997.

Jack W. Szostak is a US citizen. He was born in 1952 in London, UK and grew up in Canada. He studied at McGill University in Montreal and at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he received his PhD in 1977. He has been at Harvard Medical School since 1979 and is currently professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is also affiliated with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Want a high-resolution image that you can use in your class TODAY to illustrate the discovery for which today's Nobel Prize was given? Just click here.

Want to know more?

Video of the Nobel Prize announcement

Video of interview after the announcement explaining the story behind the discovery

Press Release on the award

[The above resources also have links to interviews with these Nobel laureates and photos of them and their work.]

Original Journal References:

Cloning yeast telomeres on linear plasmid vectors.
Szostak JW, Blackburn EH.
Cell 1982; 29:245-255.
Identification of a specific telomere terminal transferase activity in Tetrahymena extracts.
Greider CW, Blackburn EH.
Cell 1985; 43:405-13.
A telomeric sequence in the RNA of Tetrahymena telomerase required for telomere repeat synthesis.
Greider CW, Blackburn EH.
Nature 1989; 337:331-7.

[Some of the material in this article came from a press release from the Nobel organization.]

FREE nerve signaling activity

2009-10-04T20:18:00.001-05:00

The Nobel Prize site has a nice animated "game" that goes through the basics of nerve signaling. It features explanatory text alongside some nifty, simplified diagrams that are animated.

The level of coverage may be sufficient for some courses . . . but if not, then it's a good preview or review, which will help students see how it all fits together.

Try it out at Nerve Signaling.

Here's a brief video introducing this FREE online activity for your students.

Keep up with this blog on your phone

2009-10-04T14:00:00.001-05:00

The A&P Professor blog is now available on your mobile device!

Check it out at http://theapprofessor.mofuse.mobi/

Even if you prefer to view the blog at the Blogger interface or Facebook or the free email newsletter, you might find that being able to browse (or quickly find a reference) on your iPhone, BlackBerry, or other smartphone is a handy thing to be able to do.

FREE anatomic bookmarks for your students

2009-09-13T14:00:00.003-05:00

To help you help your students, I'm still offering those FREE "anatomical eyeball" bookmarks for your students!

Some of you have already received and distributed yours. But the rest of you should act now . . . while supplies last!

The bookmark is a whopping 2" by 7" printed on thick card stock—not one of those wimpy little bookmarks others give away. OK, nobody else gives away such anatomical bookmarks (as far as I know) but this is an unusually large size for a bookmark.

On the obverse side is an anatomically correct rendering of an eyeball in its bony orbit on the (anatomical) right and the eyeball partly covered by the palpebrae (lids) on the left. When you distribute them to your class, you might even take the opportunity to quiz them on anatomical directions (anatomical left and right vs. the viewer's left and right) to hone some skills, eh?

The reverse side contains information about The A&P Student blog.

The blog is mainly aimed at undergraduate college students but is also useful for high school students and even students in professional studies (medicine, allied health, etc.).

Just email me at kevin@theAPprofessor.org and tell me how many packs of 50 bookmarks you need for your class. And tell me where to send it (it MUST be a school address).

But wait!

That's not all!

Act now, and I'll throw in a few FREE humerus bookmarks for your own use!

That's right! These anatomic bookmarks (of the same sturdy structure as the eyeball bookmarks) feature a human humerus on one side and The A&P Professor hip logo on the other side.

You can use them yourself . . . and have some spares to share with your colleagues.

So, again, email me NOW at kevin@theAPprofessor.org and tell me how many packs of 50 bookmarks you need for your class. And tell me where to send it (it MUST be a school address).

Virtual Microscope (and other FREE stuff)

2009-09-13T14:00:00.001-05:00

Have you ever been to the Blue Histology website? Produced by the School of Anatomy and Human Biology at the University of Western Australia, and sponsored by Olympus, this site is chock full of excellent histology images (often at several magnifications) that you and your students can use for FREE.

One of the nifty features at Blue Histology is their VScope which is a virtual microscope that can help students figure out some basic things about changing magnifications, using the diaphragm, and other essential skills for light microscopy.

They assert that their VScope is not an ideal simulator of the real microscopy experience, even going so far as to intentionally mispel the title of their project as "Vurtial Microscope." And it's not ideal, especially with an old computer and slow connection speed. But it's still pretty cool and still good for some "at home" exploration when an actual microscope is not available.

Check it out at http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/

Inflammation images

2009-09-06T14:00:00.005-05:00

Some interesting images of the inflammation seen in early stages of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were released recently.

These images use a special type of fluorescent dye that is activated by the infrared radiation released at the site of inflammation. The intent of the project is to develop a way to detect such inflammation at an early stage of RA, when there's still time to help avert some of the damage produced by this condition.

However, the images can be useful in your A&P course when discussing the process of inflammation. The images are a dramatic example that contrasts the heat present in a normal hand versus the heat produced by hands that are inflamed.

To access the images go to:

Rheumatism Video Discloses Center Of Inflammation At An Early Stage.
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) (2009, August 29).
ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 30, 2009
[Press release with associated images. Be sure to click the images for the larger view.]

High-fat diets may reduce muscle and cognitive abilities within days

2009-09-06T14:00:00.002-05:00

Recent research at the University of Cambridge shows that rats fed on a high-fat diet have markedly reduced muscle and cognitive function within a few days of a change to the high-fat diet, compared to rats fed on a low-fat diet.

The results were reported in The FASEB Journal recently and summarized in a press release published at Science Daily.

Of course, this happened in lab rats . . . not humans. So we have a long way to go before we can establish specific human nutritional guidelines. And the low-fat diets were very low, compared the average American diet. But the high-fat diet fed to rats approached that consumed by many who eat mostly junk food . . . and some on high-fat, low-carb diets (however, the high-fat rat diet wasn't particularly low in carbs).

Even though there are more questions to answer, these results are remarkable and may prove to be an important milestone in understanding human metabolism. And may someday affect how athletes prepare for competitions . . . and now students prepare for exams.

For example, researchers claim that the high-fat diet changes the expression of the UCP3 (uncoupling protein) gene. UCP3 "uncouples" oxidative phosphorylation from ATP synthesis by allowing protons to "leak" across the inner mitochondrial membrane, thus disrupting the proton gradient that drives ATP synthase. (Chapter 27 in my Anatomy & Physiology textbook illustrates the normal function of the proton gradient.)

Such respiratory uncoupling would explain the reduced physical and cognitive ability seen in the experiments. This could be a very useful trail to follow, eh?

Want to know more?

Do High-fat Diets Make Us
Stupid And Lazy? Physical And Memory Abilities Of Rats Affected After 9
Days.
University of Cambridge (2009, September 5).
ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 6, 2009
[Plain English summary of the results and their implications]

Deterioration of physical performance and cognitive function in rats with short-term high-fat feeding.
Murray et al.
The FASEB Journal, 2009; DOI: 10.1096/fj.09-139691
[FREE abstract of the original research article]

{Photo taken by Muu-karhu}

Genome book

2009-08-31T14:00:00.001-05:00

I think everyone, including all A&P students, should be up to date on the major concepts of genetics and genomics. In most A&P courses, we don't have much (if any) time to cover the basics . . . I think most of us just assume that they've picked it all up in their prerequisite course(s). Or maybe simply by osmosis?

The way I handle it is to cover some of the basics in the section on molecular genetics when we cover cell structure and function. But a lot of it I cover in "extra credit" assignments over the course of both semesters.

One of the centerpieces of these projects is a guided reading of Matt Ridley's book Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters
.

The current (revised) edition (called the "P.S." edition) has been out a few years now, but still retains its up-to-date quality.

It's meant as an introduction to genetics and genomics for the general reading audience but it is a perfect way to introduce beginning A&P students to the principles that they will need to know as they proceed through their training and into their professions.

Each of the 23 chapters looks at one of the pairs of human chromosomes. Each chapter does not discuss the whole chromosome. Instead, Ridley picks out one or two essential principles that the structure or function of that chromosome can be used to illustrate.

Not only is Ridley able to explain the central genetic principles in an easily understood way, he is also able to do it mostly through stories rather than dry, technical descriptions and definitions.

If you haven't read it yet, you should. And if you haven't figured out a way to get your students to read it . . . well, then try my method. I give them additional points toward their course grades for reading the book and answering online test questions about each chapter.

For the description of the project, go to www.lionden.com/ap1_genome_x.htm

For a list of discussion questions to guide their reading of each chapter (that you are welcome to link to) go to www.lionden.com/ap1_genome_q.htm

Let me know what you think of the book!

Street Anatomy blog

2009-08-31T14:00:00.000-05:00

I ran across this crazy and interesting blog the other other day and thought I'd share it with you. It's called Street Anatomy and it "obsessively covers the use of human anatomy in medicine, art, and design."

It has some fantastic, gross, insane, and interesting examples of human anatomical art that you might want to use to spice up your classroom presentation.

For example, I was looking for an example of a tattoo that I could use in my presentation on the skin and found the Street Anatomy gallery of anatomical tattoos. Check it out: http://streetanatomy.com/galleries/anatomy-tattoo-gallery/

For the latest entry in the Street Anatomy blog, go to

streetanatomy.co m

The A&P Student blog

2009-08-24T14:00:00.006-05:00

Way back in January I told you about my blog to assist A&P students as they struggle through the course . . . The A&P Student.

Well, as many of us begin a new academic year, with all new students, this might be a good time to remind our students that they CAN find shortcuts and tips for success if they look for them . . . and an easy place to look is The A&P Student blog.

You are welcome to link to the blog from your online syllabus, your course webpage (including Blackboard, Angel, etc.), or post it on the classroom bulletin board.

The blog features study tips, test-taking strategies, hints for using their textbook more effectively, and more. The conversational, occasionally silly, tone of the blog will engage students looking for more efficient ways to learn A&P . . . or tips on simply surviving.

Please pass the information along to your students and colleagues. You are welcome to link to the blog from your online syllabus, your course webpage (including Blackboard, Angel, etc.), or post it on the classroom bulletin board.

The A&P Student blog
http://theAPstudent.blogspot.com

The A&P Student newsletter
http://theAPstudent.feedblitz.com

The A&P Student on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-AP-Student/90694738693

To help you help your students, I'm offering some FREE "anatomical eyeball" bookmarks for your students! While supplies last!

The bookmark is a whopping 2" by 7" printed on thick card stock—not one of those wimpy little bookmarks others give away.

On the obverse side is an anatomically correct rendering of an eyeball in its bony orbit on the (anatomical) right and the eyeball partly covered by the palpebrae (lids) on the left. When you distribute them to your class, you might even take the opportunity to quiz them on anatomical directions (anatomical left and right vs. the viewer's left and right) to hone some skills, eh?

The reverse side contains information about The A&P Student blog.

The blog is mainly aimed at undergraduate college students but is also useful for high school students and even students in professional studies (medicine, allied health, etc.).

Just email me at kevin@theAPprofessor.org and tell me how many packs of 50 bookmarks you need for your class. And tell me where to send it (it MUST be a school address).

New "old" news about the appendix

2009-08-24T14:00:00.003-05:00

A recent article in ScienceDaily discusses a new article in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology regarding the evolution of the human appendix.

As you know, Darwin thought that the vermiform appendix was a vestigial, nonfunctional structure "left over" from our evolutionary past.

And if you been using my A&P textbooks for the last ten years or so, you also know that biologists have long suspected (and recently confirmed) that the appendix is no such thing. Its function is to incubate intestinal flora (gut bacteria)—which helps keep the ecosystem of the gut in a healthy balance by repopulating the colon with beneficial bacteria after an illness or other disturbance.

The new journal article, written by some of the same researchers involved in the most recent confirmation of the "incubator model of the appendix," tackles the evolutionary aspects of the appendix.

Want to know more?

Evolution Of The Human Appendix: A Biological 'Remnant' No More.
Duke University Medical Center
ScienceDaily Duke University Medical Center. 21 August 2009.
[Summary of the journal article and its context]

Comparative anatomy and phylogenetic distribution of the mammalian cecal appendix
Smith, et al.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology. published online 12 August 2009
[Abstract of the journal article, published in advance of the print version]

Click here for a FREE surgical photo of a human vermiform appendix.

Doing our part to reduce medical errors

2009-08-12T14:00:00.001-05:00

Something to think about as we begin a new academic year teaching future health professionals:

Deaths from avoidable medical error more than double in past decade, investigation shows
Katherine Harmon
60-Second Science Blog 10 August 2009

I don't know about you . . . but I sometimes have the chilling thought that I will someday awake from an unconscious state in an emergency room somewhere and one of my former students will be smiling at me and say, "don't worry Kevin, I'll be taking care of you" . . . and it's someone who failed my class because they couldn't tell a femur from a fibula.

So I guess that now's a good time to remind ourselves why we are sometimes as hard-nosed as we are about our students know their stuff (and spelling it correctly). Because someday, they'll be posting things to OUR medical records and they'd better not be typing in perineum when they mean peritoneum!

Case Study Teaching Conference

2009-08-12T14:00:00.000-05:00

This just in from the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science . . .

Register today and take advantage of the early bird special rate for our case study teaching conference. We are excited to present three informative tracks at this year's conference, culminating in a final session delivered by Deborah Allen from the NSF: Writing More Effective Proposals for NSF's Course, Curriculum & Laboratory Improvement Program. Based on your feedback this year’s conference will focus (in addition to our beginner track) on the following areas:

ASSESSMENT - Diane Ebert-May, a national specialist on assessment, will be delivering a plenary on “Moving Beyond Assessment to Research” as well as a break-out session on “Teaching for Understanding in Science: Active Learning and Assessment.”

HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS - A new “mini” track made up of three sessions on Saturday specifically designed for high school science teachers (though others, we think, will find it of interest too!). Our break-out session leaders are Richard Donham, Senior Policy Associate, Mathematics & Science Education Resource Center, University of Delaware, and James Serach, Aldo Leopold Chair for Distinguished Teaching of Environmental Science and Ethics, The Lawrenceville School.

CLICKER CASES - A new “mini” track on what we call “clicker cases.” We have been getting a lot of questions about how we are using personal response systems (aka clickers) with case studies to create rich and student-active learning environments in large introductory science courses (though the method works well in any size classroom!). There are three sessions in this track, which runs on Saturday.

FINAL SESSION FOR ALL: Many of you have requested information on writing your own grants related to case studies. We are pleased that Deborah Allen, Program Director, Division of Undergraduate Education, National Science Foundation, will be conducting a session for us this fall entitled, Writing More Effective Proposals for NSF's Course, Curriculum & Laboratory Improvement Program. A description of the session can be found at: http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/conference/schedule.html

Our conference will be led by Dr. Clyde (Kipp) Herreid, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and Director of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. The conference is open to anyone interested in science education including high school teachers and international teachers. See below for a full listing of the conference sessions and other information. Our conference also includes a poster session and we would be pleased if you submitted a proposal.

Register now for this exciting 2-day Case Study Teaching in Science Conference, which takes place on September 25th and 26th, 2009. Early-Bird two-day registration until September 1, 2009 - $450.00. One-day Saturday-only registration is $350.

Can a borrow a cup of copernicium?

2009-08-05T14:00:00.004-05:00

Last month, I gave you the heads-up on the newly confirmed element 112. Now, we have a proposed name for it . . . Copernicium (Cp).

An eponym for the 16th-century Polish scholar Nicolaus Copernicus (pictured)—the guy widely known for his ground-breaking heliocentric view of cosmology—the new name is not yet official. Copernicium is the name proposed by the discoverers . . . and that usually becomes the official name unless somebody finds out it means something nasty in some human language somewhere.

This eponym thing is interesting. In human anatomy, we are shunning eponyms—in chemistry, it seems to be embraced. Hmmm. And get this . . . Nick Copernicus's name is in fact adopted from the name of element 29, copper (Cu). The name is the Latinized form of Mikołaj Kopernik—his surname having been based on his family's business (copper work).

So tuck that away in your trivia file, eh?

Click here for more information.

Vitamin D is hot

2009-08-05T14:00:00.002-05:00

A recent article in the LA Times quotes a nutrition professor that "vitamin D is one hot topic." This week an Institute of Medicine committee meets to determine whether the recommended daily intake of vitamin D (and calcium) should be increased. And apparently, there is a LOT of recent research on this topic that says YES! (over 2,000 articles just this year)

The research suggests that besides its well-known effects on calcium absorption, vitamin D may also affect many types of cell functions throughout the body.

Want to know more?

It may be vitamin D's day in the sun
Shari Roan
Los Angeles Times August 1, 2009
[Summary article]

Vitamin D articles
Annals of Epidemiology July 2009 Volume 19, Issue 7
[Collection of FREE journal articles about Vitamin D's health effects]

{The image above from Ragesoss is a FREE image showing supplements containing calcium and Vitamin D}

FREE herniated disc video

2009-08-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

There's a new FREE video available from one of my favorite medical/anatomical animation producers Nucleus Medical Art.

Even if you don't care to discuss the herniation aspect, it's a nice animation showing the location and basic structure of an intervertebral disc.

Check out the other videos from Nucleus, many of which you might be able to use in your A&P course.

[If you don't see the video viewer in your newsletter or feed version of this article, please go to The A&P Professor blog site to view it. Want to learn how to embed YouTube videos in your blog, website, or Powerpoint? Check it out at The A&P Professor website.]

Cilia can taste

2009-07-29T14:00:00.012-05:00

We know that primary cilia occur in just about every cell . . . and that in many cells these more-or-less nonmotile primary cilia have a sensory function. For example—in the sense of taste. But did you know that the motile cilia found in the lungs have a sensory function, too?

New research shows that the motile cilia of the respiratory airways can sense bitter-tasting molecules . . . a good sign that the molecule is potentially toxic. And researchers showed that these cilia then begin beating faster in response to the bitter compounds.

Yikes! That means that when cilia sense a toxin right there in a specific spot in the airway, they can quickly brush it out of there. Hmmm. How elegant.

Want to know more?

Airway cilia taste toxins
Posted by Bob Grant
The Scientist 23rd July 2009
[Summary of the new findings]

Motile Cilia of Human Airway Epithelia Are Chemosensory
Alok S. Shah, et al.
Science Published Online July 23, 2009 DOI: 10.1126/science.1173869
[The original research article]

BONUS . . .
Click here for a FREE image of bronchiolar cilia (SEM) that you can use in your course.

Metabolism Case Study

2009-07-29T14:00:00.009-05:00

This just in from the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science . . .

Our latest case study is “Why Is Patrick Paralyzed?” by Maureen Knabb, Department of Biology, West Chester University.

This clicker case introduces students to a rare genetic disease in which an enzyme is deficient in a critical metabolic pathway—the first step in aerobic respiration. This case challenges students to make connections between energy production, enzymes, and metabolic diseases.

Students are exposed to a real life story that serves as a basis for discussing the uses of energy-rich molecules and the importance of complex metabolic pathways catalyzed by protein enzymes.

Overall, students should appreciate the importance of each step in a metabolic pathway and the side effects as well as treatments that can emerge from discovering the underlying enzyme deficiency.

Case: http://www.sciencecases.org/patrick_paralyzed/prelude.asp

Teaching Notes: http://www.sciencecases.org/patrick_paralyzed/notes.asp

Case Collection: http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/ubcase.htm

This module also includes a nice PowerPoint slide presentation.

If you use this case in your course, why not let us know how it works for you?

Top 10 Celebrity Professors

2009-07-29T14:00:00.008-05:00

Since many of us are taking a deep breath and preparing ourselves to begin a new academic year, I thought it would be a good time for little inspiration.

Amber Johnson over at Masters Degrees Online just alerted me to their new post Top 10 Celebrity Professors. This brief list runs down some of the more famous . . . and most inspirational college teachers. Check it out!

Top 10 Celebrity Professors

While you're at it, you may want to check out my favorite book about college teaching

What the Best College Teachers Do

SlideWorld--FREE slides for your A&P course

2009-07-21T14:00:00.003-05:00

I've stumbled across yet another source of FREE slides you can use in your A&P course!

The website SlideWorld.org has a collection of nearly 8 million PowerPoint-compatible slide presentations, many of which cover topics in human anatomy and physiology. The site focuses on "medical" content, but there's quite a bit that's geared toward undergraduate anatomy and physiology education. But even some of the professional-level material can be mined for content useful in your secondary or undergrad course.

Each presentation has a number of slides--sometimes a hundred or more--any one or more of which could be added to your presentation.

Once you're there . . . and signed up (membership is FREE) . . . then you search or browse for the topic you are interested in.

Once you find a presentation that you want to borrow from, you can . . .

preview it in an embedded slide show viewer (see the embedded viewers below)
copy the code (provided on the page) to embed the slide show (with viewer) into your webpage (such as a course syllabus, outline, or module page in you online platform)
download the slide presentation file (which you can then edit, borrow selected slides, add your own slides, etc.)
save your favorite slides in your personal Myworld collection

Of course, you can also upload and share your own A&P slide presentations for others to use.

Here's the link to get started:
SlideWorld.org

One of two issues that I have with the site is that it's kinda quirky. For example, links sometimes take you to a totally unexpected (and unrelated) presentation. And there seem to be a lot of hiccups where the server is down or returns bizarre error messages that are readable only by a network programmer. But for a FREE collection of a bazillion or so slides . . . I think I can put up with the quirks.

The other issue is a bit more serious (meaning possible fines or disciplinary actions) . . .

While, as some of you already know, I'm a huge fan of sharing and "open access" teaching material, there is one very troubling aspect to this collection. Some of the slide shows that I found use COPYRIGHTED images that CANNOT BE USED LEGALLY in your classroom.

To make your use legal, you'd have to get permission from the copyright owner to use it in your course. Since many of the images do not have their sources listed, well, good luck with that.

Wait! Doesn't teaching/education constitute "fair use" under copyright law? NO . . . you have NO RIGHT to use copyrighted images in teaching without the permission of the copyright holder.

I don't want to make this article about copyright issues, so I'll save that for another time. But if you upload any of your own presentations, make sure that they do not contain copyrighted images unless you are certain you have permission to do so.

All the FREE slides for A&P that I share are copyrighted by me . . . but I've given blanket permission to use them in your course. For more information, or to browse my slides, go to:

Lion Den Slide Collection

Here are some samples from SlideWorld.org . . .

Heart Anatomy and Physiology (contains copyright images!)

| View | Upload your own| Email

Hypertension: New Concepts, Guidelines, and Clinical Management

| View | Upload your own| Email

And now for something silly . . .
Why women live longer than men

| View | Upload your own| Email

[The video players embedded here may not appear in your news feed or emailed newsletter. Go to The A&P Professor blog to access the video viewer. Go to The A&P Professor website to learn how to embed the video players in your PowerPoint or webpage . . . or how to simply link to it from your own email or webpage.]

Want more FREE slides for your A&P course?

See my FREE slide page at The A&P Professor website!

FREE video on renewal of intestinal lining

2009-07-21T14:00:00.002-05:00

A recent "Hot Paper" summary in The Scientist not only brings us up to date on the latest skirmish in the battle over which cell is THE stem cell of the intestinal crypts, it also gives us a great Flash video that we can use to illustrate the process of maintaining the lining of the small intestine.

In my textbook Anatomy & Physiology 7th edition, Figure 25-18 (p. 853) shows the process by which stem cells in the intestinal crypts (of Lieberkuhn) produce daughter cells that move up and out of the crypt to replace cells lost at the apices of the intestinal villi.

The video embedded in the article in The Scientist is not narrated, and rather slow-moving at times, but it does a fantastic job of animating the process shown in textbook figure 25-18.

To link directly to the video, go to:

http://images.the-scientist.com/supplementary/video/keller/kellermcgill_clonalconveyorbelt.swf

To view the video within the article go to . . .

Gut Churning: The discovery of an intestinal stem cell marker fuels an ongoing debate over the cells' location and properties
Alla Katsnelson
The Scientist Volume 23, Issue 7, Page 51

No matter how you get there, I suggest previewing it (duh-uh) and taking note of particular times in the sequence to which you may want to quickly navigate to avoid the slow parts (or skip parts not useful in your course). Or just slide the timing bar to the spot you want.

BONUS! Here are some FREE images of the intestinal villi and intestinal crypts from an early edition of Gray's Anatomy:

Human echolocation

2009-07-13T14:00:00.018-05:00

Did you know that any human can learn to "see" by using sounds alone?

During my seven years at the World Bird Sanctuary, I worked very closely with owls . . . including my favorite, the barn owl. Of the many fascinating adaptations possessed by barn owls, one of the most intriguing is the accuracy of their ability to find a mouse at a distance using sound alone.

Of course, many mammals have evolved mechanisms to use sounds to navigate their worlds by echolocation . . . making sounds that bounce off surfaces and are then analyzed to map out nearby objects.

It turns out that we humans have an incredible, although seldom used, ability to navigate our world by echolocation. Not just blind individuals or carnival freaks . . . anybody can learn how to echolocate! Really . . . would I make up something like that?!

So when we're listing the functions of the ear, I'm thinking maybe we better expand our list . . . at least adding echolocation as a "possible" function for hearing.

Don't believe me? Check these out . . .

Humans Can Learn to "See" With Sound, Study Says
Kate Ravilious
National Geographic News July 6, 2009
[Summarizes the recent research]

Physical Analysis of Several Organic Signals for Human Echolocation: Oral Vacuum Pulses
Rojas, Juan Antonio Martínez et al.
Acta Acustica united with Acustica, Volume 95, Number 2, March/April 2009 , pp. 325-330(6)
[FREE abstract of the original research report (first in a series)]

FYI . . .

On a related note, I've worn a beard continuously (except during two plays in which I performed) for over 30 years . . . so that I can use my whiskers to navigate like cats do. I haven't yet mastered the skill . . . but I'm still working on it.

{The image that appears in the original blog post features Ben Underwood, a blind individual who uses echolocation to navigate. Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/tirrell/199957734/}

Placenta, anyone?

2009-07-13T14:00:00.017-05:00

OK, if you have a weak stomach DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS MESSAGE.

Or better, I just won't even comment on this one . . . just read it for yourself:

Cooking with Joel Stein: How to Eat a Placenta
Joel Stein
Discover Discoblog accessed online 9 July 2009
[no comment!]

Want a FREE slide with a photo of a placenta? Click here for a slide from the Lion Den Slide Collection. FYI this is a "family photo" . . . the placenta seen in the image was photographed shortly after the birth of my youngest son, Luke. The maternal side of the placenta is clearly visible.

FYI, we ate SALAD and BURGERS for dinner that evening!

For more FREE slides, see FREE SLIDES at The A&P Professor website.

To access FREE editable slides from the Lion Den Slide Collection, including "bonus slides" not seen on the website, then go here.

{Click here to access the FREE image seen in this blog post . . . although I think a sprig of cilantro and contrasting cloth placemat would have made for a better presentation.}

The A&P Professor toolbar

2009-07-13T14:00:00.015-05:00

The A&P Professor now has a new toolbar that you can add to your browser.

Besides a high-speed Google search box, the new toolbar has a list of news feed headlines related to A&P, human science, and teaching that I've selected especially for A&P professors.

The toolbar also features a handy drop-down list of direct links to FREE stuff for A&P professors . . . FREE images, FREE slides, FREE books and journals, and many other useful resources.

There's also a tiny "radio" that I've preloaded with podcasts from science sources . . . or just use it to play your favorite internet radio station (mine is set to NPR)

Plus, you can add your own features such as local weather, email notifications, and more.

The toolbar is SAFE, FREE, and if you don't like it, you can completely uninstall it in less than a minute.

Want to know more?

Click here for details:
The A&P Professor toolbar

toolbar powered by Conduit

New NIH policy on human stem cell research

2009-07-07T14:00:00.005-05:00

For those who want to be "up to speed" on official policy when the inevitable discussion of human embryonic stem cell research pops up in class, this is just in from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) . . . revised guidelines that permit research on embryonic cell lines go in to effect TODAY.

From the official notice:

"On March 9, 2009, President Barack H. Obama issued Executive Order (EO)13505 Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells. The EO states that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of NIH, may support and conduct responsible, scientifically worthy human stem cell research, including human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, to the extent permitted by law. NIH published draft Guidelines for research involving hESCs in the Federal Register for public comment, 74 Fed. Reg. 18578 on April 23, 2009. The comment period ended on May 26, 2009. Approximately 49,000 comments on the draft Guidelines were submitted to NIH by patient advocacy groups, scientists and scientific societies, academic institutions, medical organizations, religious organizations, private citizens, and members of Congress.

The final NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research implementing the EO and establishing policy and procedures under which the NIH will fund such research, were released today and are available at http://stemcells.nih.gov/index.asp. They will be effective on July 7, 2009. Public comments on the draft Guidelines were also released today and are available at http://stemcells.nih.gov/index.asp.

The Guidelines will ensure that NIH-funded research in this area is ethically responsible, scientifically worthy, and conducted in accordance with applicable law. Internal NIH policies and procedures, consistent with the EO and these Guidelines, will govern the conduct of intramural NIH stem cell research.

The Guidelines prescribe the assurances and supporting documentation that must accompany requests for NIH funding for research using hESCs, and describe research that is not eligible for NIH funding. NIH will provide additional guidance concerning the implementation of the Guidelines and the status of pending applications in future Guide Notices.
Ongoing NIH-supported research involving previously approved hESC lines may continue. No new uses of hESC may be initiated in ongoing funded studies unless reviewed and approved by the NIH."

Read the new NIH Guidelines at http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/2009guidelines.htm

Check out this article about the new guidelines, including the context and background:

NIH loosens stem cell consent rules
Elie Dolgin
The Scientist (online) posted 6th July 2009 07:58 PM GMT

Read my recent blog article Science controversies in the news

Body map when using tools

2009-07-06T14:00:00.010-05:00

New brain research shows that when we use a tool, the mind's map of our body changes to include the tool as "part of our body."

Although by no means the definitive word on the subject, research recently published in the journal Current Biology may help us better understand how tool use in humans really "works." Metaphorically, we often describe tools as "extensions of our body" but the new findings show us that may also be literally true in terms of how the mind perceives the tools.

The experiments involved having people use a tool to grab an object (see the video below) then try to grab the same object without the tool. Longer response times without the tool may show that the user had to reprogram their perception of their "body map" to account for a shorter "arm length" without the tool.

Possible applications of this idea, if it indeed holds up to further testing, include ergonomic design of tools, occupational safety, physical and occupational therapy, and athletics.

Want to know more?

Tool use alters brain's map of body
E. Dolgin
TheScientist.com 22 June 2009
[Summary article describing the research and its implications.]

Tool-use induces morphological updating of the body schema
Lucilla Cardinali et al.
Current Biology Volume 19, Issue 12, R478-R479, 23 June 2009
doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.05.009
[FREE abstract of the original research article]

Video showing the tool use explored by researchers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3hH9Tp2AKI

Element 112

2009-07-06T14:00:00.009-05:00

Just in case you mention the total number of "known" elements when reviewing basic chemistry at the beginning of your A&P course . . . you should be aware that we're now up to 112.

Ununbium (Uub), as well as several proposed elements beyond 112, are listed in the periodic chart in Figure 2-1 (p. 34) in Anatomy & Physiology. As I stated, this is NOT essential information for A&P students, but a little bit of background to keep you up to date on the state of science. And you NEVER KNOW when it might come up, eh?

Researchers in Germany, then later in Japan, were able to manufacture atoms of Uub. The first succesful team (in Darmstadt, Germany) will be suggesting a permanent name to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) to replace the placeholder name "Ununbium." The IUPAC should be announcing the new name within a few months.

Here's a video from the Periodic Table of Videos (background)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqMksokDbeA

Here's another video updating the Periodic Table of Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ_TZUWdlYU

{Image of electron shell diagram for Ununbium, the 112th element in the periodic table of elements from Pumbaa (original work by Greg Robson)}

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