We really do have heartstrings. They’re called the chordae tendinae. Our hearts have four chambers. Two at the top and two the bottom. The two top chambers, the atria, collect blood. The right atrium gets oxygen-poor blood from the from the veins which is then sucked through three-leaf valve into the right ventricle then pumped into the lungs. The left atrium receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs that blood gets sucked through a two-leaf valve into the left ventricle which pumps it, all rich and oxygenated, into the aorta and throughout the body. Helping to prevent the blood from regurgitating from either ventricle back into either atria are the chordae tendinae, our heart strings. As suspension lines help a parachute stay properly shaped to mechanically resist the downward pull of gravity the chordae tendinae help heart valves resist the upward pressure of the ventricles. When we are stimulated, our hearts beat faster and harder tugging ever more on our heartstrings.
Category: Post
Library content is labelled in admin pages as ‘Post’ under the ‘Category’ column
By Amanda Koehn, Medill Reports
A comprehensive map of the human brain is in the works with the promise of eventually creating new neurological treatments and diagnoses for mental illnesses, Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders.
The BRAIN Initiative researchers at the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory and in labs around the country are in the beginning stages of mapping, starting with mice and moving up the scale to humans.
Continue reading “Mapping the Brain: Chicago Researchers Connect the Network”
Dirty Secrets: Managing Soil Systems for a Sustainable Future at Geek Bar Chicago’s SCIENCE! Tuesday
We can’t eat, breathe, drink, or maintain healthy communities without good soil.
Dr. Bala Chaudhary, faculty in the Institute of Environmental Sustainability at Loyola University Chicago, will talk dirty and take us through the diverse and complex world of soil. The United Nations has recognized 2015 as the International Year of Soils. Let’s talk dirty and explore the diverse and complex world of soil as well as how local scientists manage soil systems to maintain ecosystem services. Come learn how Chicago scientists are incorporating soil organisms into green roofs to manage storm water, cool neighborhoods, and reduce energy costs. Also, learn what you can do to improve soil health in your own backyard and beyond.
The human brain is unique among animals for its size and for the cognitive power that it produces; it is the most remarkable trait that humans possess. The brain is not just the most complex organ in the human body – in fact, it is the most complex structure in the known universe. It has been a subject of study for thousands of years, but we have barely begun to glimpse how it works. Continue reading “What is the BRAIN Initiative?”
By Paul Caine Producer, WTTW’s Chicago Tonight
An ambitious new government-led research initiative aims to fully map the human brain.It’s called The Brain Initiative, and the goal is to advance understanding of how the brain works and develop treatments for crippling neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.But for brain researchers, the Holy Grail is to understand the origins of human consciousness. The research challenges are staggering, the consequences of success could be world-changing, from understanding consciousness to behavioral control.Two leading neuroscientists, John Maunsell and Bobby Kasthuri, join us to talk about this potentially groundbreaking project.On Thursday, Maunsell and Kasthuri will be part of a discussion on the BRAIN Initiative at Northwestern University.
Continue reading “New Brain Initiative Aims to Fully Map the Human Brain”
By Chris Eppig
*Before we begin, be sure to read my post on the naturalistic fallacy. Science cannot condemn or justify any behavior — it can only identify the behavior and explain why it exists. In this post I will attempt to explain greed as I understand it, without mixing in any of my own ideology or the ideology of anyone else.
