Related topics: muscular dystrophy , skeletal muscle



Muscle

hide

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.

For more information about Muscle, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with muscle

results timeline


Motorized knee can make you run faster

Motorized knee can make you run faster

Technology / Engineering

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (11) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the Tsukuba University in Japan have come up with a motorized knee you can attach to your leg to make you run faster and use less muscle power.


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 ...


Muscling in on a mystery protein: Study of brawny pigs reveals key player in the genome

Muscling in on a mystery protein: Study of brawny pigs reveals key player in the genome

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- For thousands of years, humans have bred pigs for desirable traits, such as more muscle and less fat in the meat. Domestication makes animals ideal models for studying how genes control physical ...


meat

Pork meat grown in the laboratory

Biology / Biotechnology

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

(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.


 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?


Study shows new brain connections form rapidly during motor learning

Study shows new brain connections form rapidly during motor learning

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Nov 29, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- New connections begin to form between brain cells almost immediately as animals learn a new task, according to a study published this week in Nature. Led by researchers at the University of Cal ...


Study confirms that cannabis is beneficial for multiple sclerosis

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (20) | comments 0

Cannabis can reduce spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A systematic review, published in the open access journal BMC Neurology, found that five out six randomized controlled trials reported a reduction in spa ...


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). ...


Tendons shape bones during embryonic development

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

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

In all vertebrates, including humans, bones, muscles and tendons work together to give the skeleton its characteristic balance of stability and movement. Now, new research uncovers a previously unrecognized interaction between ...


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. ...


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 ...


'Volume dial' neurone may aid spinal disease

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scottish researchers have discovered a new class of neuron that may lead to new therapies for spinal injury.


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 ...


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 ...


OU Lab 1 of 4 in nation testing new exercise technique

Medicine & Health / Other

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

A year ago, Michael Bemben, professor of health and exercise science in the University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences, was invited to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to formally announce the partnership ...