The Biology of Muscle Growth

The sheer number of articles, opinions, magazines and experts on fitness and muscle growth makes the field of weight lifting appear more like the practice of medicine in the 16th century than a concrete science. Every day new theories, approaches and miracle workouts appear, contradicting each other and proclaiming that they have the truth, and that by following their advice you will achieve the body of your dreams. Clearly, some of them are on the right track and some are not, but how to tell the difference between them all? The answer lies in understanding the basics of the biological process of muscle growth. Once you know some key principles, you will be better equipped to evaluate whether a new exercise routine is based on sound physical principles-or completely bogus.

The most basic principle to understand is that your muscles adapt to whatever stress they are subjected to. If you spend all day on the couch, then you will be in possession of a fine set of muscles equipped for couch sitting. If you jog forty minutes each day, than your body will adapt to that. If you always follow the same number of reps and sets and routine when weight lifting, then your body will adapt to that too. And once you've adapted, your system will stop growing, and simply rest at this new plateau, having achieved the bare minimum required to function at that level. Therefore the basic idea is that if you want growth, you need to continuously overload your system.

The result of progressively overloading your muscles is called muscular hypertrophy, and that is the increase in muscle mass and cross-sectional area. Note that the number of muscle cells does not increase ( a phenomenon called muscular hyperplasia), but rather the size increases. As you work out, your muscles are subjected to microtrauma, where small tears appear in the muscle tissue. These tears signal what are called the 'satellite cells' on the surface of your muscle to activate and multiply and go to the damaged sites where they fuse with the existing muscle fiber, helping them regenerate.

The Biology of Muscle Growth

While the satellite cells are multiplying and fusing with the damaged areas, your immune system kicks in with a complex series of reactions that ultimately lead to inflammation meant to contain and repair the damage as well as clean up the area of waste products. This process if key not only to the health of the muscle, but its growth, as numerous hormones and cytokines are released which stimulate muscle hypertrophy. Among these are hormones like insulin-like growth factor (IGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Growth hormone (GH) is also released, and is key to promoting satellite cell division and the release of IGF.

What is important to understand is that this entire process (microtrauma resulting in the complex interaction of satellite cells, the immune system, growth factors and hormones) is dependent not only on exercise, but also receiving the appropriate amount of rest and nutrition to optimize the healing process. Muscular hypertrophy occurs when the muscle heals itself, not when you are working out. Furthermore, your muscles will only adapt as much as they need to, resulting in a 'plateau' effect if you don't change things up and challenge them in new ways. This is why it is a good idea to switch up your exercise routines like they do in P90X, and always keep your body guessing as to what comes next.

The Biology of Muscle Growth
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Philip Tucker is a Fitness Product Review specialist for Miami based Extreme Fitness Results LLC. He enjoys keeping his body guessing with P90X's muscle confusion, a key principle of any P90X workout schedule.

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Why Do I Fart So Much? Find Out the #1 Cause of Excessive Gas & Farting!

There's a very common cause for people who have excessive gas & farting which most people are unaware of because most doctors are uneducated regarding it. If you frequently ask "why do I fart so much?" Then I have quite the surprising find for you as I'll explain the #1 cause of gas that you're completely unaware of. Best of all by eliminating this you'll also eliminate over 95% of all your other health complaints!

Why do I Fart So Much?

This epidemic is known as candida and it's a yeast that exists in essentially everyone. In some people it's a larger problem than in others, however the bottom line is always the same in that the same approach must be taken to be sure it is fully eliminated. This involves the use of natural anti-fungals, a strict anti-candida diet while also using nutritional therapy to boost the health of the body. This is enough to help eliminate the current overgrowth although without going after what created it in the first place you can never fully be free from it.

Why Do I Fart So Much? Find Out the #1 Cause of Excessive Gas & Farting!

Fortunately there are natural therapies not normally associated with candida which can allow your body to control it entirely on its own. 

How Candida Creates Gas!

Candida overgrows in the bowels by a process known as fermentation, now if you remember anything from biology back in school this process creates a lot of gas as a result. This gas needs to find a way out and quite often it's either through belching or farting, the latter being much more common. Quite often as well those who suffer from candida have issues with bowel obstruction as they don't always experience 3 bowel movements per day which will lead to a build up of waste in the colon, only making matters worse.

So what's the solution? Clear your bowel, clean out candida from the body while also doing natural therapies which will prevent it from ever causing problems again! 

Why Do I Fart So Much? Find Out the #1 Cause of Excessive Gas & Farting!
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Candida Making you Sick? Take our FREE Candida Test, Eliminate Gas for Good! by clicking http://www.howtocurecandida.com

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What Are the Best Male Enhancement Herbs?

A lot of people don't believe that natural herbs can enhance a man's sexual experience. But plants and herbs are responsible for hundreds of FDA-approved drugs and medicines. In fact, a recent study reported that over 60% of all cancer drugs come from plants. In addition, many herbs, including male enhancement herbs, have plenty of scientific support behind them.

So what are the best male enhancement herbs? It depends on whether you're looking for herbs that naturally produce testosterone, herbs that help sexual stamina, or herbs that increase blood flow throughout the body (including to the penis). Here are some examples:

Tribulus Terrestris--This ancient herb became popular after Eastern European Olympic athletes used it to enhance their athletic performances in the early 1990's. Tribulus accomplished this by naturally increasing the body's production of testosterone, a hormone that also directly affects sex drive and performance. Tribulus has also been shown to prevent premature ejaculation.

What Are the Best Male Enhancement Herbs?

Catuaba Bark--This herb comes from the Brazilian rain forest and enhances blood flow throughout the body. According to Michael van Straten, noted British author and researcher of medicinal plants, Catuaba is beneficial to men and women as an aphrodisiac, but "it is in the area of male impotence that the most striking results have been reported" and "there is no evidence of side effects, even after long-term use."

Maca Root--This Peruvian herb is known for increasing sexual stamina. The New York Times recently reported on a study that concluded that Maca is excellent for improving sexual staying power, reducing the possibility of prostate cancer, and improving male fertility. According to the Times, "peer reviewed studies published in the journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology backed up those findings."

There are many supplements that contain these male enhancement herbs, but quality is always an issue since the herbal medicine field is mostly unregulated. It's very important to find a reputable product that uses pure herbal ingredients. Of equal importance is the dosage, or amount of herbs used. But if you can get a hold of a supplement that uses high quality herbal ingredients in big enough doses, you'll most certainly see an increase in erection size, strength, and staying power.

What Are the Best Male Enhancement Herbs?
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Find out which male enhancement supplements use the highest quality herbal ingredients at Zenerx (or Zenerex [http://www.zenerexreview.com]).

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Biology - Characteristics of Fish - An Introduction

Fish are vertebrate animals, that is, they all have a vertebral column or 'spine'. There are two main groups of fish, bony fish (Teleosts) and cartilaginous fish (Elasmobranchs). As the common names imply, the skeletons of teleosts are made of bone while the elasmobranchs have cartilaginous skeletons. The elasmobranchs comprise sharks, rays and dogfish which differ from teleosts in many respects. The teleosts are far more numerous, with a greater diversity of species than the elasmobranchs.

All fish are aquatic and breath by absorbing dissolved oxygen in the water using their gills. The bodies of both teleosts and elasmobranchs are covered with scales but those of elasmobranchs are spiky and project through the skin. This makes the skin feel very rough, like coarse sandpaper. The scales of the teleosts have a flattened, discoid shape and are covered by a thin layer of skin and mucus which probably reduces friction between the body and the surrounding water and makes them very slippery.

The swimming mechanism in both groups is very similar. A series of muscular contractions pass down each side of the fish alternately bending it from side to side and pushing backwards and sideways against the water. The water resistance exerts an opposite sideways and forward force on the fish. The sideways forces cancel each other but the forward force propels the fish forward. In both groups there are variations in this method of propulsion. Skates and rays make undulatory movements in the vertical plane as do flatfish like plaice. Some teleosts, such as the sea horse, propel themselves by undulatory movements of their dorsal fin.

Biology - Characteristics of Fish - An Introduction

In general, the fins contribute to stability and steering rather than propulsion. The median fins, dorsal and ventral, reduce the sideways thrust of the swimming movements and also reduce the tendency to roll from side to side. The paired fins help to steer the fish upwards or downwards through the water and contribute to turning and braking. The paired fins of elasmobranches are held in rather rigid positions while those of teleosts, with their flexible jointing to the body, are more versatile in their movements and can often be seen moving gently to keep the fish in a steady position.

In the teleosts, there is a swim bladder. An elongated, air-filled sac just below the vertebral column. This air bladder keeps the fish buoyant and prevents it from sinking when it stops swimming. The volume of the air bladder can be adjusted to compensate for changes in pressure at different depths. The elasmobranchs do not have swim bladders and so they start to sink if they stop swimming.

Although water is H2O, aquatic creatures cannot use the oxygen from this. The oxygen they breathe comes from the air which has dissolved in the water. There are four or five pairs of gills situated inside the mouth cavity. In teleosts, they are covered on the outside by a bony plate called the operculum. By movements of the floor of the mouth and operculum, the fish creates, a current of water which passes over its gills. Water is taken in through the mouth and expelled through the operculum in the case of teleosts, and out through separate gill slits in elasmobranchs. The gills are, in effect, finely branched, thin-walled blood vessels which, because of their multiple branches, expose an enormous surface to the water and so facilitate absorption of oxygen and loss of carbon dioxide.

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D G Mackean is the author of GCSE Biology, IGCSE Biology, and many other Biology text books. He has a site of Biology Teaching Resources at http://www.biology-resources.com which includes a bank of Biology Experiments for teachers, sample PowerPoint presentations, and many biological drawings

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Biology - Why Are Penguins Birds If They Can't Fly?

Everyone knows what a bird is, right? If I ask my seven-year-old son what a bird is, he'll respond with something like "a bird is an animal that has a spine, wings, two feet, hollow bones, and can fly." Or, if her remembers the little military chant his dad made for him, he might say, "hollow bones and scaly feet, feathered wings and goes tweet tweet."

Well, penguins can't fly. They have wings, feathers, two feet, and a spine, and they swim well but they cannot fly. Ostriches can't fly either, but both penguins and ostriches are considered birds. How is that possible? What's the deal?

It's all in the definition

Biology - Why Are Penguins Birds If They Can't Fly?

There's a difference between the common usage of the word "bird" and the scientific use of the word. The common definition is based on features of the animal you can see with your eyes and discern with your other senses like feathers, wings, number of legs, and being warm-blooded. My seven-year-old son knows the common definition of the word "bird."

Scientists use a slightly different definition.

Evolutionary birds

The scientific taxonomy of birds is a bit different than common usage. The scientific groups are made based on fossil evidence and other biological evidence such as DNA and mitochondrial DNA when the DNA can be obtained. Birds are in the Domain Eukaryotes, the Phylum Chordata meaning vertebrates, and the Class Avians. Avians have descended from theropod dinosaurs. More specifically, birds have descended from Archaeopteryx, which existed in the late Jurassic period.

Many scientists think of birds as the only type of dinosaur that didn't go extinct 65 million years ago. In fact, my daughter who is obsessed with dinosaurs, calls birds "tiny dinosaurs."

Scientifically, birds today are descended from dinosaurs, have feathers, a beak with no teeth, and they lay eggs with hard shells. Birds have a high metabolic rate, meaning they need to eat a lot to maintain their body temperature. (Some refer to them as warm blooded.) They have a four-chambered heart (like mammals), and they have lightweight, strong skeletons. Most birds can fly, but flying isn't a requirement to be a bird.

And that's the crux of it. The scientific definition of "bird" does not require the ability to fly.

Biology - Why Are Penguins Birds If They Can't Fly?
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Gwen Nicodemus is a freelance engineer/writer and a homeschooling mom. Visit her website, Notion Nexus, for unit studies, worksheets, notes, and educational videos.

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Biology Bingo Cards

When we think about science subjects, we often think of them as being about learning laws, theories, and perhaps mathematical formulae. Thus when we think about studying a science subject involves, we can easily overlook that it also involves learning many facts and details. Like other science subjects, studying biology requires learning numerous facts - for starters, the names of animal phyla and plant divisions, the parts of cells, the names of various biological processes, and other specialist terminlogy associated with the subject.

Since knowing the core facts of the subject is essential precursor to a decent understanding of biology, good teachers are always on the look-out for ways to help their students learn these facts. Sometimes a certain amount of rote learning may be unavoidable, but enjoyable and educational classroom activities are often a better way for students to learn. In particular, educational games can be very effective as a learning tool - and one such game that is gaining more and more popularity in the classroom, is bingo.

Bingo, it turns out, is perfect for educational use. This is because almost everyone knows how to play the bingo, and even if they don't the game is so simple that they can quickly learn, plus the fact that bingo can be modified to teaching pretty much any subject, including biology, by using bingo cards printed with words or phrases related to the subject of biology, instead of numbers. Additionally, the game has the advantage that it does not require expensive specialist materials, which is quite significant when you consider the financial limitations that educators work under nowadays.

Biology Bingo Cards

In order to play biology bingo, each student is given a bingo card, the teacher plays the part of the bingo caller, and then you play bingo. Of course, teachers have the option of modifying the game to better serve its educational purpose, perhaps by encouraging class dicussion after items are called out, or by asking students to describe the items that they have ticked off from their bingo cards.

Of course if you'd planning to play biology bingo in the classroom, you will need some bingo cards containing items related to biology. The simplest way for teachers to obtain them, is by the teacher printing them off using a standard Windows PC. This is very straightforward, even for computer novices, because you can either use ready-made bingo printables that are available online, or you can get easy-to-use and affordable bingo card creator software, which can print any sort of bingo cards that you might want.

Biology Bingo Cards
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By S. Tanna. For free science bingo card printables, please go to http://www.bingocardscreator.com/bingo_science.php

To create your own custom bingo cards, please go to http://www.bingocardprinter.com/

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Programming Your Brain For Success - Basic Brain Biology

There are billions of brain cells (neurons) in your brain forming a highly complicated neural network. This very moment millions of brain cells in your brain are sending messages to one another by causing electrical firings and producing thoughts, emotions and feelings.

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The number of neurons in our brain increases from childhood until we reach adolescence. By that time our brain is ready to decide on the final set of brain cells it will keep throughout our life as an adult. Your brain will leave more room for expansion of the type of cells you use the most. These frequently used neurons will grow as time goes by forming new branches and expanding the neural network. The brain cells you don't use will be pruned.

But the question is how our brain selects what neurons to keep?

Programming Your Brain For Success - Basic Brain Biology

Scientists claim that our brain cells have the ability to self-destruct. How often do you use a specific type of brain cells, is determined by the blood flow in our brain. Different areas of the brain, different blood flow. If the blood flow is high that means those areas of the brain are frequently used. Now, the brain has this chief-enzyme called Calpain. Calpain is an enzyme which helps determine which cells should self-destruct. Calpain can be spotted in those low-traffic areas with little blood flow.

Other types of enzymes and proteins are produced in the high traffic areas of our brain where blood flow is increased. These proteins form branches and connections between well/frequently used brain cells. Its the proteins' responsibility to further develop and protect the neural network by creating new connections/branches between brain cells.

Brain Activity Increases During Sleep

It is believed that the majority of work done by neurons to expand the neural network takes place while we sleep. This explains why sleep is so important for us humans. Our physical and mental performance is strongly affected by the amount of sleep we get. Especially during periods when we learn new things and expect from our brain to absorb and store new information. In order for our brain to form new neural branches storing the new information we need to sleep and give our brain time to work.

I bet you've heard the phrase "..If you want to learn something new then sleep on it.."

It's true. When we try hard to learn something new, we also need significant amount of sleep in order to own the information and store it in a long-term, complex network of new neural branches.

Programming Your Brain For Success - Basic Brain Biology

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