That of a Homeostasis Lab (feat. Stephenoso)

    There are many ways to force homeostasis to activate. So conducting a lab around it should be fairly simple- except combined Stephen Mathews and I poured our sweat, tears, and yes blood into this Lab.
This might be fairly uneventful as I forgot to take pictures (you would  be distracted too if you had to stab your self 8 times... for science of course).

Totally awesome blood drop costume.

     In my Biology blog, (here) I explained the advanced scientific method; with that knowledge I formed a skeleton of a lab to test Homeostasis. Originally Stephen and I were playing it safe. Our plan was to use cotton balls to measure sweat and then weigh them. We could form questions around it and apply necessary variables, like how long to run and where to gather sweat. This experiment meets the requirements, but we realized how incredibly lame it was. So we bumped it up a bit.

All that was left from our original lab.

     No one else was bleeding, even though our notes included an imbalance of blood glucose levels. I have a diabetic grandma so I thought why not... for science right? We decided that homeostasis uses energy from what we eat or what is stored in our body to raise the blood glucose level when it drops. As was explained in my Bio blog, experiments can branch into multiple questions. Stephen and I decided to test various bars of deliciousness to test their ability to maintain those levels. We decided that I would run two laps, which is just long enough to work that bar and kill me. So during class we trekked to the track, and took the first test. I would then eat the chosen bar and chew forever... FOREVER. After running the two laps, we would test me again and repeat the next day.

I kind of laughed for 12 minutes at this.

    The bars we tested were Fruit nut trail mix thing, Peanut thing, and Almond thing. All great granola bars, but their effects were pretty wimpy... Shame on you granola. Here is a table to break down our information.

     So in answer to our question, peanut and almond tied for least amount of change, so they 'worked the best.' Even though neither of them worked well at all, this opens up for us to ask more questions; What if we compared fruits? What happens if we change to laps to 4? Thank you nut group for attempting to keep homeostasis from stepping in but you didn't do so well. So concludes my first group lab for this class! Stephen and I are officially science bros.

That of Homeostasis

     Simply put, homeostasis is balance. This is the definition that was given to me before a swift turn of the head and the continuation of clacking on their own keyboard. Okay, so I get that it is a balance within the body, but there are expansive amounts of ways to define balance within the human body.

    When some form of balance is interrupted in your body, homeostasis activates to fix the problem. For instance: when you run, you get overheated. So sweat is produced to cool down your skin. It's a process that isn't turned on or controlled by you, much like blinking.  Your body has receptors which detect a change that will effect your body, in this case the receptors are feeling the heat from the sun and movement of muscles. These receptors go to a control center in the body that will decide the problem and how major the solution needs to be. In this situation, the amount of sweat is produced from the intensity of the heat. An effector is the thing that fixes the problem, in our situation it is the sweat.

Run forever... The Hair Police are after you man.

     In short contrast, when your body is cold, you get goosebumps, which raise hairs and warm you. Your body will start to retain heat and send it to your core. Also, when you don't eat regularly, homeostasis assumes that you are stranded and starving and you need his help to survive! So, homeostasis stores any and all fuel that does eventually come into your body. So much for dieting.

You and me both bro...

     Aside from the physical effectors we can see and feel, there are internal effects of homeostasis. Negative feedback is what causes the change to happen, as is the case with blood glucose levels. If your body is running out of fuel it will start to break down and effect various organs, thankfully beginning with the fat. Your body uses the fat as fuel when it has nothing else to go on. Though with too much negative feedback, your body will get sad and yes, take down your organs, and once your kidneys go- it's a fast track to Deadville, my friend.
     In summary, your body has an amazing organization that keeps your body going no matter what obstacles occur. Homeostasis watches out for you when any imbalance occurs.... Homeostasis is my homeboy.

That of an Introduction

    Welcome to my anatomy and physiology blog. Enjoy the content and it's many whimisical and insightful ways.