Credit: iStock While our air conditioners are working hard to cool our homes in the record high heat waves sweeping the U.S. this summer, our bodies are working just as hard to keep cool. Our bodies work to maintain internal organ and tissue temperature at a relatively constant value between 96.8 and 100.4 degrees F. … Continue reading Sweating to Keep Cool
Endocrine System
Spotlight On: Obesity
Credit: iStock Obesity, broadly defined as “a condition characterized by the excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body,” has long been recognized as increasing the risk of human disease and death. Hippocrates, often called the “father of medicine,” noted in the fifth century B.C. that “sudden death is more common in those who … Continue reading Spotlight On: Obesity
Spotlight On: Diabetes
Credit: iStock We hear a lot about diabetes, but you may wonder what exactly it is. Diabetes mellitus (its full name) is a chronic disease caused by dysregulation of the endocrine system. Diabetes affects how our bodies turn food into energy. There are three main types of the condition: type 1, type 2 and gestational. … Continue reading Spotlight On: Diabetes
May The Best Immune System Breathe!
Credit: iStock Our immune system’s job is to protect our body and work as a self-defense tool against viruses and other harmful substances. Our immune system works as a cohesive unit spread across our body in different organs, cells and even the blood. Without it, our bodies would be more prone to infection and we … Continue reading May The Best Immune System Breathe!
Spotlight On: Insulin
Credit: iStock Sugar is one of the most important fuels our bodies use to produce energy and survive. However, too much sugar can cause damage to our organs. Our bodies naturally produce a hormone called insulin that helps regulate how much sugar is circulating in our blood at any given time, even when we eat … Continue reading Spotlight On: Insulin
COVID-19: What’s Sex Got to Do with It?
Credit: iStock The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge the scientific community. Scientists across the globe are still trying to figure out the risk factors for severe COVID-19. Being male seems to be a higher risk, and many researchers are looking into why males experience COVID-19 symptoms more severely than females. My lab studied the … Continue reading COVID-19: What’s Sex Got to Do with It?
Try Fidgeting to Control Blood Sugar
Credit: iStock We usually associate autumn with several sensations that delight the senses, including crisp air, warm colors and the smell of woodsmoke. Many of us will spend time surrounded by loved ones, which may include benevolent grandmothers and aunts indulging us with food and sweets. Pecan pie, pumpkin pie and cobblers may be delicious, … Continue reading Try Fidgeting to Control Blood Sugar
Insulin: 100 Years of Saving Lives
Credit: iStock Elizabeth Hughes weighed a mere 45 pounds when she walked into the clinic of Frederick Banting, MD, on August 16, 1922. It was three days before her 15th birthday. Since her diagnosis with what today we call type 1 diabetes, Elizabeth had been strictly adhering to a starvation diet, the only available treatment … Continue reading Insulin: 100 Years of Saving Lives
New Trends in Sex and Gender Medicine Conference: Transgender Health, Addiction, Colon Cancer and More
Credit: iStock Scientists studying how sex and gender affect health and medical outcomes delve into topics—such as female reproductive risk factors, transgender health, and how biological sex affects COVID-19 outcomes, the microbiome and opioid addiction—that haven’t always been studied extensively or well understood. Researchers who specialize in these areas understand how much biological sex matters … Continue reading New Trends in Sex and Gender Medicine Conference: Transgender Health, Addiction, Colon Cancer and More
Bariatric Surgery Reveals Complexities of Our Hunger Systems
Bariatric surgery affects a variety of physiological processes in the human body, including brain signaling, hormones, blood composition and the microbiome.