Credit: iStock/mohd izzuan Your immune system is a powerful defense network that protects you from harmful invaders such as bacteria and viruses (called pathogens). The immune system helps your body identify foreign substances called antigens that may harm you and launches an attack to neutralize them. You need this complex system for survival—but what happens … Continue reading Spotlight On: Autoimmune Disease
Immune System
Scientists Are Learning How Different People Adapt in Space
Credit: iStock/Elen11 Astronauts are exposed to a unique environment during space travel. A few examples include radiation, isolation, confinement and a lack of gravity. This affects their physiology in many ways, including cardiovascular and musculoskeletal deconditioning, vision changes and immune dysfunction. Over the past 60 years of human space exploration, astronauts have had a range … Continue reading Scientists Are Learning How Different People Adapt in Space
Can Gene Editing Help Make Seafood Safer for People with Allergies?
Credit: iStock Imagine enjoying a delicious plate of seafood, and suddenly, you break out in hives, have trouble breathing or have a severe allergic reaction. This frightening scenario is the reality for people with shellfish allergies. An allergen is a substance that, although harmless for most people, can trigger an exaggerated immune response in some … Continue reading Can Gene Editing Help Make Seafood Safer for People with Allergies?
Spotlight On: Lymphatic System and Lymphedema
Credit: iStock The cardiovascular system includes the heart, arteries and capillaries that transport blood, oxygen, nutrients and water across our bodies. Veins also collect blood, while something called the lymphatic system collects a fluid called lymph. Lymph contains byproducts from our metabolism and immune factors to maintain our health. Cardiovascular health is central to our … Continue reading Spotlight On: Lymphatic System and Lymphedema
Climate Change Affects Our Health by Changing Air Quality
Credit: iStock Earth is a special planet for having an atmosphere that enables life to thrive. Our atmosphere surrounds our planet, which keeps us warm and contains oxygen for us to breathe. The atmosphere has different layers with different qualities and is where our weather happens. Weather refers to the state of the air and … Continue reading Climate Change Affects Our Health by Changing Air Quality
Thinking about Spring
Credit: iStock According to the calendar, it’s spring—and depending on where you live, the trees may already be blooming as the temperatures begin to climb. If you live in a colder climate, don’t worry, your time will come for warmer days and balmy evenings. “What does spring have to do with physiology?” you may ask. … Continue reading Thinking about Spring
2022’s Most-read I Spy Physiology Posts
Credit: iStock This year, as COVID-19 vaccines and boosters protected most of us from severe disease, scientists and educators returned to labs, classrooms and in-person meetings with a lot of new physiology research to share. In 2022, our member-contributors wrote about the physiology of space travel, new techniques to improve organ transplantation and why exercise … Continue reading 2022’s Most-read I Spy Physiology Posts
Antihistamines: Beyond Allergy Relief?
Credit: iStock Allergies are one of the most common chronic conditions in the world—in the U.S., as many as 50 million people have them. Many people regularly take antihistamine medications to relieve allergy symptoms that may include itching, skin rashes, runny nose and wheezing. Antihistamines block the effects of histamine, which is a very strong … Continue reading Antihistamines: Beyond Allergy Relief?
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!
How Technology and Physiology Are Making Sick Livers Transplantable
Credit: iStock Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a spectrum of liver disease that begins with excess fat accumulation in liver cells. Left unchecked, this can progress to a more advanced disease stage, called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), that involves scarring and inflammation of the liver. There aren’t any approved therapies for NASH yet, which means … Continue reading How Technology and Physiology Are Making Sick Livers Transplantable