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


meat

Pork meat grown in the laboratory

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (41) | 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 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 ...


 Killer catfish? Venomous species surprisingly common, study finds

Killer catfish? Venomous species surprisingly common, study finds

Biology / Plants & Animals

created 14 hours ago | 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?


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

Medicine & Health / Research

created 17 hours ago | 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). ...


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 ...


Study confirms that cannabis is beneficial for multiple sclerosis

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (18) | 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 ...


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 ...


Your own stem cells can treat heart disease

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 0

The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ...


Investigating muscle repair, scientists follow their noses

Investigating muscle repair, scientists follow their noses

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0

When muscle cells need repair, they use odor-detecting tools found in the nose to start the process, researchers have discovered.


Longer toes eyed as sprinters' edge

Longer toes eyed as sprinters' edge

Biology / Other

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Longer toes may give sprinters a leg up on other runners, according to a new study.


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

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

Medicine & Health / Research

created 21 hours ago | 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 ...


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.


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 ...


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.