Related topics: muscular dystrophy , skeletal muscle



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

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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.


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 ...


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 ...


Motorized knee can make you run faster

Motorized knee can make you run faster

Technology / Engineering

created 14 hours ago | popularity 4.1 / 5 (8) | comments 3

(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.


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 ...


Systems biology approach provides insulin resistance insights

Systems biology approach provides insulin resistance insights

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego recently offered the sharpest-yet picture of how core biochemical pathways in skeletal muscle cells and fat cells are altered in people who suffer from ...


Abnormal cholesterol levels may raise risk of heart failure

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Even if you never have a heart attack, abnormal blood cholesterol levels may significantly raise your risk of heart failure, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart As ...


New genetic cause of cardiac failure discovered

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Over the course of a lifetime, the heart pumps some 250 million liters of blood through the body. In the order to do this, the muscle fibers of the heart have to be extremely durable. The research group headed by Dr. Wolfgang ...


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 ...


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.


Overweight children may develop back pain and spinal abnormalities

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Being overweight as a child could lead to early degeneration in the spine, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).


Glaxo's swine flu shot may give kids fever

Medicine & Health / Medications

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- The European Medicines Agency warns that young children given GlaxoSmithKline's swine flu shot may get a fever after their second dose.


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 ...