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
Organ Transplant
Extending the Window for Organ Recovery
Credit: iStock Oxygen is vital for maintaining normal cell function. It’s so important that even a few minutes without oxygen can cause a buildup of acid in the body. And that can lead to cell death and organ injury. Insufficient blood flow that can’t provide oxygen to organs and cells—which is called “ischemia”—is a major … Continue reading Extending the Window for Organ Recovery
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
The Heart Adapts to the Sex of Heart Transplant Recipients
Whether you are male or female can play a role in your health when it comes to how well you recover and thrive after an organ transplant. Because donated organs are in high demand, the sex of the donor is not taken into consideration when assessing compatibility. However, men and women who receive donated organs … Continue reading The Heart Adapts to the Sex of Heart Transplant Recipients