Muscle

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Muscle (from Latin musculus, diminutive of mus "mouse") is the contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to produce force and cause motion. Muscles can cause either locomotion of the organism itself or movement of internal organs. Cardiac and smooth muscle contraction occurs without conscious thought and is necessary for survival. Examples are the contraction of the heart and peristalsis which pushes food through the digestive system. Voluntary contraction of the skeletal muscles is used to move the body and can be finely controlled. Examples are movements of the eye, or gross movements like the quadriceps muscle of the thigh. There are two broad types of voluntary muscle fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch fibers contract for long periods of time but with little force while fast twitch fibers contract quickly and powerfully but fatigue very rapidly.

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News tagged with muscle cells

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Muscle cell infusion shown to strengthen sphincters in animals

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1

A new study shows that muscle cells grown in the lab can restore an intestine's ability to squeeze shut properly. The work, performed in dogs and rats, might ultimately help treat patients with conditions such as gastric ...


To keep muscles strong, the 'garbage' has to go

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

In order to maintain muscle strength with age, cells must rid themselves of the garbage that accumulates in them over time, just as it does in any household, according to a new study in the December issue of Cell Metabolism. In the ...


Heart cells on lab chip display 'nanosense' that guides behavior

Heart cells on lab chip display 'nanosense' that guides behavior

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Johns Hopkins biomedical engineers, working with colleagues in Korea, have produced a laboratory chip with nanoscopic grooves and ridges capable of growing cardiac tissue that more closely resembles natural ...





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Common mechanism underlies many diseases of excitability

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 28, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Inherited mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) are associated with many different human diseases, including genetic forms of epilepsy and chronic pain. Theodore Cummins and colleagues, at Indiana University School ...


From fruit fly wings to heart failure -- why Not(ch)?

From fruit fly wings to heart failure -- why Not(ch)?

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Almost a century after it was discovered in fruit flies with notches in their wings, the Notch signalling pathway may come to play an important role in the recovery from heart attacks. In a study published ...


Umbilical cord could be new source of plentiful stem cells, researchers say

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Stem cells that could one day provide therapeutic options for muscle and bone disorders can be easily harvested from the tissue of the umbilical cord, just as the blood that goes through it provides precursor cells to treat ...


Supportive materials will help regenerate heart tissue (w/ Video)

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Bioengineers from University of California, San Diego are developing new regenerative therapies for heart disease. The work could influence the way in which regenerative therapies for cardiovascular and other diseases are ...


meat

Pork meat grown in the laboratory

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (43) | comments 53 weblog

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from Eindhoven University in The Netherlands have for the first time grown pork meat in the laboratory by extracting cells from a live pig and growing them in a petri dish.


Study explores 'garbage disposal' role of VCP and implications for degenerative disease

Study explores 'garbage disposal' role of VCP and implications for degenerative disease

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

It's important to finish what you start, say Jeong-Sun Ju and researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. In the December 14, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Ju et al. ...


Tiny molecule slows progression of Lou Gehrig's disease in mice

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a molecule produced naturally by muscles in response to nerve damage can reduce symptoms and prolong life in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ...


New stem cell technology developed at Hebrew University

New stem cell technology leads to better treatment for complicated bone fractures

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A novel technology involving use of stem cells, developed by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers, has been applied to provide better and rapid healing for patients suffering from complicated bone fractures.


Study Results Suggest Adult Stem Cells May Help Repair Muscle Cells Damaged by Heart Attack

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Adult stem cells may help repair heart tissue damaged by heart attack according to the findings of a new study to be published in the December 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Resul ...


 Killer catfish? Venomous species surprisingly common, study finds

Killer catfish? Venomous species surprisingly common, study finds

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Name all the venomous animals you can think of and you probably come up with snakes, spiders, bees, wasps and perhaps poisonous frogs. But catfish?



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