20 Time Final Post

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5vyTB66hY8&list=PLXVa0vGCksTaQxb0DUCUENbC9LuWRDKTr&index=21


I thought our Ted Talk went very well. I wasn't quite sure what to expect and I was a little nervous. But the presentation went very smoothly and I was happy with it. I don't think I would change anything. All three of us deserve an A because we all split time evenly, spoke clearly and confidently, and were prepared for the Ted Talk. I was very impressed with everyone's Ted Talk. Everyone was confident and spoke concisely, and that really surprised me. I liked the Ted Talk assignment much more than just a written final for the semester.

River Cleanup

The river cleanup was a great experience. I had never done one before so I wasn't really sure what to expect. When we got there, I was glad to see that they provided gloves and pick-up sticks. We started walking along the river bank picking up trash, separating out recyclables. It was very eye opening to me to see how much litter there actually is. It seemed everywhere we looked there was an empty chip bag or a crushed soda can. I definitely will be more self conscious about making sure to throw things away and to properly recycle items. At the end, Mr. Saffine dropped off some popsicles for us :)

20 Time Reflection

When this project was first introduced I had no idea where to start. No project ideas were coming to my mind and I wasn't really sure what to do. Luckily, Tyler and Niko had felt the same exact way that I did so we decided to work together. But we still didn't have a project plan. Then, Mr. Orre came up to us and recommended that we do something either football or weightlifting related. He mentioned that we could do something to help incoming 8th graders get some time and experience in the weight room before they come to high school. So Tyler, Niko, and I decided to hold a skills and weight training camp at redwood for all boys planning on playing football. However, after talking to Coach Lugo we realized we needed all sorts of permits and waivers so holding a camp was no longer a realistic option. So, after brainstorming on what we could do instead, we agreed that an Instagram account with videos and photos on certain drills and workouts could be possible. The first step was to create the account and follow as many Redwood students as possible. Then we uploaded videos for the kids to see and hopefully did it on their own. What I learned from this project is that the adult world is very complicated. One does not simply create a football camp *meme voice*. None of the three of us expected that to be an issue, but as it turns out that was our main one. It set us back a bit not being able to have the camp because we basically had to start all over again. Personally, I feel that Tyler, Niko, and I have worked extremely well together. We split up blog posts so the work was done evenly, and we all have worked on our google doc as well. We probably deserve an A- because having to start over set us back.

Unit 8 Reflecton

This unit was about the muscular system. Our essential understandings included how muscles are organized and classified, how they work, which are the major muscles, and how muscle fibers and synovial joints work. To start off the unit we choreographed synovial joint dances, which was a fun change of pace activity that helped us learn all of the different synovial joints. My favorite part of this unit was the chicken muscle dissection because we were able to physically see and feel the muscles instead of just looking at pictures of them.
 



We also did a new joint project, where we had to redesign a joint in an attempt to reduce injury risk. My joint was the ulnar collateral ligament located in the elbow, which is frequently injured by baseball pitchers. My redesign included thickening the joint in all directions. Although this would reduce elbow flexibility it would reduce injury risk significantly.

Something that I learned that I can apply to my life is stretching. Most muscles have an opposite, meaning while one muscle is flexing the opposite muscle has to relax. For example if I'm curling my arm, my bicep brachii is flexing (contracting) and my tricep humorus is relaxing (extending). Typically when I stretch my hamstrings I would just bend down and reach for my toes. But now, I know if I flex my quads while I reach for my toes I can go even further because my hamstring is forced to relax even more.

My New Year Goals are going good so far. I have gained weight by lifting and eating more. I currently have a C+ in Anatomy but I'm very close to getting it to a B-.

What Happens When You Stretch

"The nerve endings that relay all the information about the musculoskeletal system to the central nervous system are called proprioceptors."
This quote shows how even though we study each system at different times, they are all connected and all related to each other. So as we leaner about one system we continue to learn about other systems.

"When an agonist contracts, in order to cause the desired motion, it usually forces the antagonists to relax."
This is what we were learning about how when one muscle flexes the opposite muscle relaxes. Take the bicep and tricep for example; when doing curls your arm bends by our bicep contracting while the tricep simaltaneously relaxes.

"...you can get a more effective stretch by inducing the antagonists to relax during the stretch due to the contraction of agonists."
This is something I have never thought about. This is very definitely something i will pay attention next time I am stretching. For example, if I am stretching my hamstrings I will focus on tightening my quads so I can get an even deeper stretch.



Relate & Review
This reading was very interesting. It talked about the effects that stretching has on the muscles. This is definitely something I will use in my own life, ads I probably don't stretch as often or as long as I should. It also gave some interesting techniques for stretching, such as flexing the opposite muscle of the one you are stretching.

New Joint Project

The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is a thick triangular band at the medial aspect of the elbow uniting the distal aspect of the humerus to the proximal aspect of the ulna. It consists of two portions, an anterior and posterior united by a thinner intermediate portion. The most common UCL injury is a slow deterioration of the joint as a result of repeated stress, commonly seen in baseball pitchers. To treat the injury Tommy John Surgery is required. This is where they will take tendons from a different part of your body and replace the UCL with it. The surgery is named after Tommy John, a major league pitcher who in 1974 was the first ever to have the surgery. This injury usually occurs in hard throwers because the faster your arm is moving the more stress you're putting on your ulnar collateral ligament. 

To improve this joint and reduce injury risk, I thought the best way to do this would be to keep it simple and not change too many things. I would simply thicken tendons in all ways in an attempt to make it stronger and more durable. Side effects could perhaps include less mobility of the joint because of the increased thickness of the tendons, which could possibly result in a slower fast ball. But in my opinion, 5-6 miles per hour slower on a fastball would be worth the trade off of dramatically reducing injury risk of the ulnar collateral joint. 

This project was very interesting. It caused us to learn a specific joint in more depth, which in turn helps us learn about all of the joints as a whole. I can't remember ever doing this type of project in a previous class. This topic is very relatable for me because I have suffered from elbow pain for years from pitching and I know many people who have had to get Tommy John surgery.





Sources:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/97451-overview

http://www.houstonmethodist.org/orthopedics/where-does-it-hurt/elbow/ulnar-collateral-ligament-injuries/

Atlas of Human Anatomy, Frank H. Netter

Chicken Muscle Dissection

For this lab we dissected a chicken, focusing primarily on the muscles and joints. I learned that these chickens are breed to have very plump thighs and breasts and that is the reason they are so unproportionate.





This is the Pectoralis Major. It pulls the wing ventrally (flying).





This is the Pectoralis Minor. It pulls the shoulder down and forward.





This is the Trapezius muscle. It pulls the shoulder back.





This is the Latissimus Dorsi. They run from the spine to the wing and their function is to pull the wing.





This is the chicken wing. The muscle pinned is the deltoid, Which raises the wing.






BLUE: This is the Biceps Brachii. It flexes the wing. YELLOW: This is the Triceps Humeralis. It exends the wing.





This is the Flexor Carpi Ulnaris, responsible for flexing the hand.





This is the Brachioradialis, responsible for pulling the hand back.





This is the Sartorius, which flexes the thigh.





This is the Iliotibialis, which extends the thigh and flexes the leg.





This is the Biceps Femoris, which flexes the leg.





This is the Semimembranosus, which extends the thigh.





This is the Semitendinosus, which extends the thigh.





This is the Quadriceps Femoris, which flexes the thigh and extends the lower leg.





This is the Gastrocnemius, which extends the foot and flexes the lower leg.





This is the Peroneus Longus, which extends the foot.





This is the Tibialis Anterior, which flexes the foot.






The human muscles and chicken muscles have many similarities as well as differences. In the upper arm/wing we both have deltoids, biceps brachia, and triceps humeralis. In the back, we both have the trapezius muscle and the latissimus dorsi muscle. However, in birds the iliotibialis muscle is actually three different muscles in humans; tensor fasciae latae, gluteus maximus, and iliotibial tract.

Unit 7 Reflection

This unit was all about the skeletal system. I thought it was cool because it taught us that bones do a lot more than just hold up our body. It also stores minerals and produces red blood cells in the bone marrow. All bones are shaped the way they are for a reason. Bones are separated into four groups; long, short, flat, and irregular.

I am curious as to why some of the back disorders affect children, some affect adults, and some affect both. Perhaps it's because some things are caused by poor posture such as kyphosis and lordosis, so they take years to develop.

In this unit, it definitely helps to have a skeleton in the classroom. Looking at pictures sometimes can't give you the same hands on understanding.

My New Years goals are going good and bad. I have gained about 8 pounds since basketball has ended, however my grades aren't where I'd like them to be

Owl Pellet Lab

For this lab we used tweezers to dissect dehydrated owl pellets, or undigested fur and bones regurgitated by owls. 

The rodent in our pellet was a vole. The skull was the main giveaway because voles have their teeth grouped at the back of the jaw rather than it being spread out and all three skulls that we found matched that. It also had elongated front teeth that could only belong to a mole or vole. The leg bones also matched those of a vole.

The bone anatomy of voles obviously are different than that of a human. The bones are much smaller, the skull is dramatically different shape, and voles have very long two front teeth. However, the similarities included a ball and socket joint at the hip, external limbs protruding from the main body, and the skull had eye sockets.

Brain Dissection Lab

 

2. Cerebrum- takes information and processes it
cerebellum- motor control and muscle movement
brain stem- connects to spinal cord, breathing, digestion
meninges- separates blood and brain

3. Insulation around the neuron. Allows faster communication

4.






5.  Thalamus- relays sensory information, feels pain
Optic Nerve- connects the brain to the eye
Medulla Oblongata- controls heart and lungs
Pons- links the medulla oblongata to the thalamus
Midbrain- vision, hearing, and motor control
Corpus Collusum- joins the two hemispheres of the brain
Hypothalamus- controls the autonomic nervous system


6.








Relate and Review:

This lab was very interesting. I'm getting better at labs in terms of being able to find things easier and also not being grossed out. I think the most interesting part was seeing the corpus callosum separating the two distinct hemispheres of the brain. Doing a lab is different than reading a textbook or watching a vodcast because it isn't color coded and labeled. This leaves a lot of grey area for error, however once you focus on what you're looking for you're able to find it.

Unit 6 Reflextion

This unit was primarily about our brain and nervous system. We learned how the brain is separated into different sections, which control different actions and different parts of the body. We learned how a reflex is when sensory information travels down a synapse to the brain and the brain quickly responds. The brain takes information from our five senses; sight, smell, hear, taste, and touch  We us our eyes to see, nose to smell, ears to hear, mouth to taste, and our whole body to touch. In the brain dissection, we could clearly see how the brain is split in half. The eye dissection seemed complicated at times but i thought it was interesting and helpful. It's funny comparing that dissection to the simplicity of the Hana the Banana dissection. Some weaknesses i have in this unit would be remembering all the parts to the eye, and not getting my brain parts mixed up. A strength would be the five senses. For my New Years goals I have just started lifting.

Reflex Lab Analysis

1. For the Reflex Lab, we conducted experiments to further understand our reflexes. Reflexes, a mechanism to protect our body, is when sensory information travels down a synapse to the brain and the brain responds quickly. 

2. I) In experiment 1 the photo pupillary reflex contracts the smooth muscle of the iris to control the size of the pupil. When we cover our eyes to make it dark, our pupil expands in an attempt to allow more light in. When we are exposed back to the light our pupil then contracts to limit the amount of light getting in. Humans evolved this trait to increase vision in the dark.
II) The patellar reflex causes the knee to jerk in a monosynaptic reflex. It occurs so fast because there is only one synapse in the circuit needed to complete the reflex. Although after the squares were completed, the knee did not jerk because the muscles are tired and cannot react as fast. Humans evolved this reflex in order to react to danger immediately. 
III) The blink reflex is something humans developed to keep things out of our eyes. The cotton ball, or anything coming at our eyes, causes us to blink without thinking to protect our eyes.
IV) For the fourth experiment we used the Plantar Reflex. When we drag the pen on our foot, our toes are supposed to curl. However, people suffering from MS and Newborns spread their toes instead because their nervous system isn't myelinated, resulting in Babinski's sign. 
V) The last test doesn't measure a reflex, but rather your hand-eye coordination. Mine and John's were very similar, with my average time being 0.16 seconds and his being 0.18 seconds. A possible mistake we could have made in this experiment could have been holder the meter stick closer or further away from the hand, or perhaps miscalculation. 

3. Texting significantly slowed down our reaction time. I went from an average of 0.16 seconds without texting to 0.30 seconds with seconds, nearly doubling my time! This gives us significant evidence to prove that texting while driving is very dangerous. 

Sheep Eye Dissection Analysis

Light first travels through the cornea and then passes through the pupil, which is controlled by the iris(colored part of eye). Then the lens bends the light to the optic nerve, which is connected to the brain (left eye=right brain, right eye=left brain). The sclera is the white part. The vitrous humor is the liquid that fills the eye. Fatty tissue surrounds the sclera and protects the eye. Choroid is the second layer of the eye, and is colored black. The cilary body consists of muscles, which control and shape the lens. The tapetum lucidum is found in nocturnal animals. It reflects light and increase vision in the dark. The suspensory ligament attaches the lens to the optic nerve. Aqueous Humor is the rest of liquid that fills the eye.

A Woman Perpetually Falling

"Even when she has fallen, she feels she is still falling, perpetually, into an infinite abyss." I can't imagine how living like this would be. to be constantly having this feeling, even while sitting down would be awful.

"People with her disorder often fall to pieces psychologically, and many have committed suicide." I don't know how i would react if i had this disorder and was told that last sentence. It must be devastating living like that.

"We have senses we don't know we have-until we lose them." This is interesting to think about. We take balance for granted, and I'm sure there's many other things we take for granted too, like breathing.

Relate & Review: This reading was very interesting. A woman was a feeling of falling down, whether she was standing, sitting, or even laying down. Her vestibule apparatus had stopped working and also making her very tired and dizzy. It puts into perspective all of the things healthy people take for granted sometimes.

The Clay Brain

We used different colors of clay to show the different parts of the brain. We had two different views, left hemisphere along sagittal plane and lateral view if the right cerebral hemisphere. We numbered each part so that we could clearly label it.

The Woman With A Hole In Her Brain

This article was very interesting. It was discovered in China that a woman has been living with her entire cerebellum missing. In all other cases like this the person has died when they were a child. However, this woman has only been affect through minor skills such as slurred speech and dizziness. The doctors aren't really sure how to explain it.

The frontal lobe, located at the front of the brain, is one of the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the mammalian brain. The frontal lobe plays a large role in voluntary movement. It houses the primary motor cortex which regulates activities like walking. The function of the frontal lobe involves the ability to project future consequences resulting from current actions, the choice between good and bad actions (conscience), the override and suppression of socially unacceptable responses, and the determination of similarities and differences between things or events. Strokes are common causes of frontal lobe damage in older adults. You can still live with frontal lobe damage, but may notice symptoms similar to Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease.

Unit 5 Reflection

This unit was about the digestive system and our metabolism. We leaned in detail what happens to our food after we swallow it and how we use our hormones to control this process. As always, we discussed how the structure of our organs in the digestive system affect the function that they complete. Learning about the metabolism was very interesting. We extract energy from food in three stages. The first, large molecules are broken down into smaller ones. The second stage is where smaller molecules are turned into Acetyl CoA. In the third stage the Acetyl CoA travels along the Krebs cycle and turns into ATP. We also learned how our metabolism can be affected, such as Diabetes. Essentially, diabetes is when a lack of insulin is produced, resulting in high blood glucose levels. There are two different types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is usually developed at birth or in early childhood and requires the person to inject him or herself with insulin. Type 2 diabetes is typically found in adults and often begins as insulin resistance. Diet and exercise along with medication can usually bring blood glucose levels back down. The endocrine system is all about how different hormones can trigger or regulate different parts of our body. We have all sorts of glands that store and release when needed different hormones. Steroid hormones are lipid soluble and diffuse through cell membranes, where as non-steroid hormones are not lipid soluble and are received by receptors external of the cell membrane. The lymphatic system's job is to gather waste in fluids so we can properly get rid of it. Lymph vessels are throughout our body similarly to our blood vessels, and is moved along by skeletal muscles. Dead cells and excess fluids are transported away. 
I think this unit went a little fast. I found sometimes it was slightly overwhelming trying to retain all of the information, but that just means i need to study harder for the test. I thought the digestive system lab was interesting but that was the only one we did. 
So far my New Years Goals are still progressing along. I haven't gotten any bigger but I am going to start lifting more once basketball ends. I have a C right now because I didn't finish the digestive system lab ;(

New Years Goals

1. Get an A or B in Anatomy:

• study
• take good notes
• do all homework

2. Get bigger

• lift 
• eat more
• eat healthy