Ok, so maybe you won't necessarily become a professional bodybuilder just by using your thoughts, but new research suggests that regular mental imagery can help muscles sustain strength when immobilized for several weeks. The article, entitled The power of the mind: the cortex as a critical determinant of muscle strength/weakness, was published in the Journal … Continue reading Findings Friday: Using your brain to become Arnold Schwarzenegger
biology
A neuron can be represented as an electrical equivalent circuit
A neuron can be represented as an electrical equivalent circuit, which is a mathematical model that represents all of the major electrical properties of a given neuron. An equivalent circuit is made up of batteries, capacitors and resistors.Basically, the model gives us a relatively intuitive idea of how currents are caused by ionic movement and … Continue reading A neuron can be represented as an electrical equivalent circuit
Water-Filled Pores of Ion Channels
The water-filled pore of an ion channel is important in transporting ions across the cell membrane. But how does this water-filled pore work? Well, we know that ions attract water because water is bipolar: it has an unequal distribution of charges. The oxygen atoms tend to attract electrons, so it has a slightly negative charge, while … Continue reading Water-Filled Pores of Ion Channels
Clathrin Coats and Endocytosis
So we all know that organelles and cellular materials move about. One way that endocytic traffic occurs is via clathrin-coated vesicles. The clathrin coat, which is made of proteins, interacts through receptors with extracellular molecules that are going to be taken up into the cell. In other words, the clathrin-coats help facilitate endocytosis. Clathrin-mediated uptake … Continue reading Clathrin Coats and Endocytosis
How the Neural Tube Develops
The formation of the nervous system during embryonic development is a fascinating topic. The embryo begins as a flat disk with three layers, one of which is the ectoderm from which the skin and nervous system arise.A part of the ectoderm gives rise to the neural plate. In the neural plate, a groove, called the neural groove … Continue reading How the Neural Tube Develops
What makes neurons so special?
We all know that neurons are the building blocks of the brain. They are the main cells that do a lot of the brain’s work, besides the glial cells. (More on glial cells with a later post, though). Now, what is it that makes neurons so special? Neurons are really good quickly and precisely. But what … Continue reading What makes neurons so special?
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