Muscle
hideMuscle (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
Reduced muscle strength associated with risk for Alzheimer's
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Individuals with weaker muscles appear to have a higher risk for Alzheimer's disease and declines in cognitive function over time, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Neurology.
Ancient muscle tissue extracted from 18 million year old fossil
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have extracted organically preserved muscle tissue from an 18 million years old salamander fossil. The discovery by researchers from University College Dublin, the UK and Spain, ...
Genome sequence for the domestic horse unveiled
Nov 05, 2009 |
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The whole genome sequence of the domestic horse has been completed by the genome-sequencing center of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with an international team of researchers that ...
Microsoft Researchers Developing Muscle-Based PC Interface (w/ Video)
Technology / Computer Sciences
Oct 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Microsoft researches have teamed up with the University of Washington and the University of Toronto to develop a muscle-controlled interface that allows for hands-free, gesture-driven interaction ...
Bodybuilding with steroids damages kidneys
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Athletes who use anabolic steroids may gain muscle mass and strength, but they can also destroy their kidney function, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific ...
A new way to measure muscle
Oct 28, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Shortly after taking a faculty position at MIT, Joel Dawson '96, SM '97 got together with his former music teacher, Elena Ruehr, for coffee. Ruehr, an MIT lecturer in music and theater arts, ...
Muscle weakness a common side effect of long stays in intensive care units
Oct 27, 2009 |
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After decades of focusing on the management of respiratory failure, circulatory shock and severe infections that lead to extended stays in hospital intensive care units, critical care researchers are increasingly turning ...
Moderate amounts of protein per meal found best for building muscle
Oct 26, 2009 |
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For thousands of years, people have believed that eating large amounts of protein made it easier to build bigger, stronger muscles. Take Milo of Croton, the winner of five consecutive Olympic wrestling championships in the ...
Researchers reverse pulmonary arterial hypertension in mouse models
Oct 25, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have identified a key protein that promotes the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension in humans and mice. This groundbreaking discovery has implications for ...
Muscle 'synergies' may be key to stroke treatment
Oct 20, 2009 |
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Researchers at MIT and San Camillo Hospital in Venice, Italy, have shown that motor impairments in stroke patients can be understood as impairments in specific combinations of muscle activity, known as synergies.
Scientists grow mice heart muscle strip that beats
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have grown a piece of heart muscle - and then watched it beat - by using stem cells from a mouse embryo, a big step toward one day repairing damage from heart attacks.
Cyborg beetles to be the US military's latest weapon (w/ Video)
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have implanted miniature neural and muscle stimulation systems into beetles to enable their flight to ...
Bioengineering of nerve-muscle connection could improve hand use for wounded soldiers
Oct 14, 2009 |
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Modern tissue engineering developed at the University of Michigan could improve the function of prosthetic hands and possibly restore the sense of touch for injured patients.
Afib triggered by a cell that resembles a pigment-producing skin cell
Oct 12, 2009 |
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The source and mechanisms underlying the abnormal heart beats that initiate atrial fibrillation (Afib), the most common type of abnormal heart beat, have not been well determined. However, a group of researchers at the University ...
New strategy for mending broken hearts?
Oct 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- By mimicking the way embryonic stem cells develop into heart muscle in a lab, Duke University bioengineers believe they have taken an important first step toward growing a living "heart patch" ...
