Credit: iStock/Md Saiful Islam Khan Imagine you’ve got diabetes and are at the doctor’s office. You leave your appointment reassured; your A1c is “good,” neatly packaged into a single number that suggests control, stability and safety. It feels definitive. But physiology rarely speaks in averages. A1c measures how much glucose has been sticking to the … Continue reading What Your A1c Doesn’t Tell You
When Students Ask What Textbooks Don’t Answer
Credit: iStock Who created the rules for how we teach science? I have often found myself asking this question while sitting in STEM classrooms, both as a student and as a scientist. Whether in biology, physiology, chemistry or physics, science instruction often feels rigid and predetermined. Learning objectives, timelines, assessments and outcomes are usually set … Continue reading When Students Ask What Textbooks Don’t Answer
How a Swallow Slows the Heart
Credit: iStock/courtneyk Like many dads, I love a little reading time with my 3-year-old before bed. Because of my work, my son and I talk about “heart beeps,” as he calls them. One night, he asked if I wanted to hear his heart beep. I said yes and laid my head on his chest. Doing … Continue reading How a Swallow Slows the Heart
Spotlight On: Ion Channels
Credit: iStock/sqback Every word in the English language can be constructed using just 26 letters. By simply rearranging these letters in various ways, you can form anything from a quick text message to engaging stories. Your body has a similar system to communicate, but instead of letters it uses microscopic structures called ion channels. What … Continue reading Spotlight On: Ion Channels
Interoception: The Body’s Hidden Sixth Sense
Credit: iStock/magicmine Our bodies are constantly sensing what is happening inside us, even when we are not aware of it. This internal awareness is known as interoception. Similar to homeostasis, the term interoception describes something we experience every day—the process through which the body monitors its internal environment and sends signals to the brain to … Continue reading Interoception: The Body’s Hidden Sixth Sense
Rainbow mRNAs Help Researchers Discover the Hidden World of Cells
Credit: iStock/Evgenii141 Six years after the revolutionary development of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, 4D cellular physiologist Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, PhD, FAAAS, and her research team took synthetic mRNA technology to the next level. In her recent keynote talk at the 2026 American Physiological Summit in Minneapolis, Lippincott-Schwartz’s group—led by Heejun Choi, PhD—at Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s … Continue reading Rainbow mRNAs Help Researchers Discover the Hidden World of Cells
The 2026 American Physiology Summit in Minneapolis: You Betcha!
Yoko Wang, PhD, presents her poster at the 2026 American Physiology Summit. All photos in this post courtesy of Wang. Spring is always the season I am waiting for. Not only for the sunshine and blooms, but also for the annual American Physiology Summit! This year’s Summit took place in Minneapolis, the largest city in … Continue reading The 2026 American Physiology Summit in Minneapolis: You Betcha!
Scenes from the 2026 American Physiology Summit: My Week in Photos
Viet Dinh, PhD, presents his poster at the 2026 American Physiology Summit. All photos in this post courtesy of Dinh. The 2026 American Physiology Summit took place in Minneapolis April 23−27, where thousands of physiology researchers, educators and students from around the world convened. I’ve had the pleasure of attending the Summit, the annual meeting … Continue reading Scenes from the 2026 American Physiology Summit: My Week in Photos
Spotlight On: Gestational Diabetes
Credit: iStock/lostinbids A person’s body changes in many ways during pregnancy to support a growing baby. One change involves how the body controls blood sugar. Insulin is a hormone that helps transport sugar from the blood into cells so it can be used for energy. During pregnancy, the placenta produces hormones that make the pregnant … Continue reading Spotlight On: Gestational Diabetes
Travel, Sleep Loss and Performance in College Women’s Soccer
Credit: Anthony Militello/Seattle University Athletics Between classes, practices and cross-country flights, college athletes often live life on a tight schedule. Caroline Penner, an undergraduate researcher at Seattle University, presented her research at the 2026 American Physiology Summit. Her research tracked how in-season travel affected the sleep patterns and game performance of Division I women’s soccer … Continue reading Travel, Sleep Loss and Performance in College Women’s Soccer