Overview Of Recent Discoveries In The Field Of Human Physiology

The branch of science that reflects the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of human tissues, organs and organ systems is referred as Human Physiology. This branch is very important for the maintenance of human health. As the man keep delving into the endless ocean of knowledge, he came to know about new aspects and new discoveries in this field. Scientists discovered many new aspects in this field. Some of these are as follow:

Muscle Relaxants May Lead To Pulmonary Complications

• Date of publication: September 18, 2018
• Source: Department of physiology and pharmacology
• Article publication: Journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine

Findings: According to one of their finding that was written in journal, muscle relaxants (these are the chemicals that are very often used to terminate or inhibit the transmission of nerve impulse to the muscle, also known as neuromuscular blocking agents. These are commonly used in anaethesia during surgeries) might be the source of pulmonary complications. Although it is a combination of an effective anaethesia but cause post-surgical pulmonary complications. Researchers collected data of 22,800 patients from 28 European countries.

Among those 1,200 patients passed through from different surgeries and got muscle relaxant in anaethesia during surgeries. While the rest of the patients only got anaethesia without muscle relaxant. They also found the post surgeries complications. Pulmonary and respiratory complications were found in those patients. They came to point that muscle relaxants that are responsible for relaxing the specific muscle or the whole body during surgery can cause post-surgical pulmonary complications such as infections, respiratory insufficiency or lung collapse. According to the study we come to know another important point that the usage of those drugs, that can reverse the blocking action, cannot reduce the risk of post-surgical pulmonary complications.

Brown Adipose Tissue Is Capable of Secreting Factors That Can Activate Fat and Carbohydrate Metabolism

• Date of publication: September 28, 2016
• Source: University of Barcelona
• Article Publication: Nature Review Endocrinology

Findings: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) having the role of burning more calories and make the body heat out of fat. New study reveals that BAT-which is also called as motor of thermogenesis-possessing an endocrine function that activates the lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Traditionally, BAT was considered a mere organ that burns calories. But now it has been seen that also possess an endocrine biological role that it releases such factors that activate lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. The factors released by BAT are referred as batokines. According to researchers, in the condition of BAT activation and high oxidation in metabolism products for the generation of heat, the organ is also responsible to send a series of biochemical signals to the entire organism for the activation of global oxidizing metabolism. Batokines targets the organs like white adipose tissue, liver, heart and probably pancreas and brain. According to the experts, in future this finding can be helpful in drug designing to treat diseases like obesity and diabetes.

Discovery of Human Body’s New Organ

• Date of publication: February 28, 2017
• Source: University of Hospital Limerick
• Article publication: journal “The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology”

Findings: Scientists succeeded in finding new organ of the human body. It is called as Mesentery. It is officially declared as human body’s 79th organ. It was previously described by an Italian polymathy named Leonardo Da Vinci in 1508 but it remained untouched for many centuries. It is located in the middle of the intestine. It is double fold as compared to the peritoneum (which is the lining of abdominal cavity). Previously it was considered as a fragmented complex and a part of digestive system. But now it is considered as a separate continuous organ that connects gut to the body. It is fatty membrane that keeps the intestine in place.

Things are prevented from sliding out of place because of this organ. In studies it is confirmed that it is a continuous organ that stretches from rectum to small intestine. J. Calvin Coffey (who discovered this unique organ) wrote in his findings that without mesentery intestine cannot stay in its position. Without it, intestine can slop around the belly. Its function is unknown. According to some scientists, it works as a shock absorbent. According to the Coffey, it is very certain that it plays an important role in some gut diseases. Its complete function is itself a mystery. Scientists are working on it. According to the scientist, its functions can play an important and effective role in less surgical complications and in offering new targets in the fight against abdominal diseases.

Discovery of Self Renewal Stem Cells

• Date of Awarding Nobel Prize: October 8, 2012
• Nobel Awards Winners: Sir John B. Gurdon & Shinya Yamanaka
• Nobel Award Given By: Royal Swedish Academy of Science

Findings: Both the scientists discovered that pluripotency can be induced in somatic cells. An embryo contains immature cells that can give rise to any type of the cell (any type of the cell can be nerve, muscle or liver cells) referred as pluripotent stem cells. Scientists were of the view that once these cells get mature for performing their specific functions, cannot return back. Gurdon proved this scientists’ view wrong by designing an experiment in which he replaced the nucleus of frog egg cell with nucleus extracted from a mature intestinal cell of a tadpole.

The modified egg cell developed into a tadpole. That mature nucleus had all the instructions required to become all cells of the body, although mature nucleus was inserted into the egg cell. In this way the previous misconception was proven wrong by Gurdon. Afterwards, Yamanaka designed another experiment with the similar view of Gurdon. He reprogrammed mature skin cells of the mice to again become immature cells that once again able to become any cell in the adult mice. He termed these cells as induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs). Scientists are now able to derive such induced stem cells from adult nerve, heart and liver cells, making new ways to treat the degenerative diseases and drug discovery. Now-a-days, through IPSC technology pluripotency is being injected in mature somatic cells by the treatment with defined factors. Discovery of GPS of Brain

• Date of Awarding Nobel Prize: October 6, 2014
• Nobel Award Winners: john O’Keefe & May-Britt Moser & Edward I. Moser

Findings: They discovered such cells that form a positioning system in the human brain. O’Keefe worked on the brain cells and discovered the first ever component of the “inner GPS” of the brain through experiments in rats. He found a specialized type of nerve cell in the hippocampus part of the brain. He called the cell as “place cell”. He observed that this cell became active when the rat was at a certain place, while on the other hand, other “place” nerve cell turned on when the rat moved to the other places. He considered these cells as building maps inside the hippocampus. Afterwards, May-Britt Moser and Edward I. Moser discovered another type of cells referred as “Grid cells”.

These are the type of nerve cells that are involved in generating a coordinating system for navigation in a brain region near the hippocampus called the “entorhinal cortex”. Through their research they showed that place and grid cells make it possible to determine position and to navigate. Both types of cells go parallel to perform this function. They further found that place cells and grid cells are also present in human brain and they might be involved in some types of memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease.