Latest Organs Stories
A new study finds that children's brains are organized differently than those of adults. Specifically, the neural connections within a child's brain are more a function of proximity to one another than is the case with adult brains.The research also showed that despite these differences, one of the most important core principals of adult brain organization is present in the brains of children as young as 7 years old."Regardless of how tempting it might be to assume otherwise, a...
New research significantly advances our understanding of the brain mechanisms that link learning with flexible decision making. The study, published by Cell Press in the May 14th issue of the journal Neuron, demonstrates that the brain does not just learn the structure of the physical world but, through learning, encodes rules that regulate how we interpret future sensory information."Successful everyday behavior relies on the ability of the brain to interpret and assign meaning to...
A new University of British Columbia study finds that our brains are much more active when we daydream than previously thought.The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that activity in numerous brain regions increases when our minds wander. It also finds that brain areas associated with complex problem-solving "“ previously thought to go dormant when we daydream "“ are in fact highly active during these episodes."Mind wandering is typically...
 After surgery to remove the head of the pancreas, invagination of the pancreas into the small intestine resulted in a lower rate of pancreatic fistula, according to researchers at the Jefferson Pancreas, Biliary and Related Cancer Center. The research was published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. It was performed as a randomized trial "“ the gold standard for studies.Removing the head of the pancreas, a procedure called pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), is a common...
Canadian-led scientists say they've discovered surprising genetic similarities among chickens, frogs, pufferfish, mice and humans. The researchers, led by University of Toronto Professor Timothy Hughes, said their findings show expression in tissues with a limited number of specialized cell types is strongly conserved, even between mammalian and non-mammalian vertebrates. The scientists, investigating evolutionary alterations in gene regulation, studied 3,074 genes present as a single...
 Researchers at Oregon State University have found one gene in the human body that appears to be a master regulator for skin development, in research that could help address everything from skin diseases such as eczema or psoriasis to the wrinkling of skin as people age.Inadequate or loss of expression of this gene, called CTIP2, may play a role in some skin disorders, scientists believe, and understanding the mechanisms of gene action could provide a solution to them."We found that...
Brain Healthy Meal Recipes, Educational Games and More Now Available SAN FRANCISCO, March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Posit Science Corporation today unveiled an education initiative to provide the public with information about how the brain functions and what people can do to keep their brains healthy. In honor of Brain Awareness Week, which begins today, the company is making available fun and educational tools online that help people understand how the brain operates and dispel myths about the...
Nu Skin Presents Findings at Asian Societies of Cosmetic Scientists Meeting PROVO, Utah, March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Additional research on a newly identified internal free radical generator, age-related NOX (arNOX), by scientists working with Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS) links the enzyme to age-related skin damage, such as decreased elasticity and discoloration. The research was presented at the 9th Scientific Conference of the Asian Societies of Cosmetic Scientists (ASCS),...
Researchers studying a type of fish that once lived in what is now Kansas and Oklahoma have discovered a 300-million-year-old fossilized brain."For a long time, paleontologists have used the shape of the cranial cavity to research the general morphology of the brain, because soft tissue was not available until today," said Alan Pradel of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris."Soft tissue has fossilized in the past, but it is usually muscle and organs like kidneys...
A U.S. scientist says he's created a technique that can detect the early development of pancreatic cancer, which now has a 5 percent five-year survival rate. The optical technology developed by Northwestern University Professor Vadim Backman uses an analysis of adjacent tissue in the duodenum to detect the cancer. Scientists said the promising new technology might help raise the extremely low survival rate of pancreatic cancer patients by aiding early detection. The technique uses...
Latest Organs Reference Libraries
The liver is the organ in charge of processing, neutralizing and excreting certain secretions for the metabolic processes. Formation and Orientation The liver is considered to be both the largest internal organ and the largest gland in the human body. It is situated just below the diaphragm, to the right of the stomach and on top of the gallbladder. There are two ways blood can travel to and from the liver: the hepatic artery and the portal vein. The hepatic artery carries blood solely...
The esophagus is the muscular tube that is located between the pharynx and the stomach that aids in digestion during swallowing. Formation and Orientation The esophagus is composed of four separate layers; the mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa and the adventitia. The mucosa includes the stratified squamous epithelium, lamina propria and muscularis mucosae. The submucosa houses the esophageal glands and connective papillae. The muscularis externa is composed of three sublayers The...
The ovaries are the two reproductive female organs where the eggs are produced. These are parallel to the testes in men. Formation and Orientation Each ovary is the size of an almond and is located on one side of the pelvis before the ureter and internal iliac artery but after the external iliac artery. They are attached to either side of the uterus. They are connected and release eggs to fallopian tubes, though not attached, monthly during the menstrual cycle. They also produce...
Skin is the outermost organ that protects and incases the tendons, ligaments, bones, muscles, etc. It is also the largest organ of the human body. Formation and Orientation Healthy skin consists of vitamins A, C, D and E, but in all skin, there are melanocytes which produce mesodermal cells. These cells allow for the absorption of UV rays. There are five main pigments that provide color in the skin’s many levels. Although not found in the skin, Oxyhemoglobin is found in the blood,...
The appendix is a dead-end tube like structure, ranging from 2 to 20 cm, that spans off the cecum of the colon. It is attached to the lower part of the large intestine. Formation and Orientation The appendix can be found in many mammals including marsupials, euarchontoglires (rodents) as wells as humans of course. It is also an organ that forms in the embryotic stage during pregnancy. McBurney’s Point, the point that is one-third the distance from infront and above the spinal cord...
