Life Lines - The Podcast of The American Physiological Society - Episode 1: Snorkeling Elephants

Episode 1: Snorkeling Elephants

10/09/07 • 26 min

Life Lines - The Podcast of The American Physiological Society

In this episode, APS Executive Director Martin Frank talks with University of California physiologist John West about snorkeling elephants, galloping race horses and flying pigeons.

Marshall Montrose tells us why the stomach doesn't digest itself.

And finally, Greg Atkinson describes the benefits the afternoon nap may have for your heart. For the study abstract click here.

The intro and outro music for the Life Lines podcast is from Body Notes, composed by Hector Rasgado-Flores and performed by the San Diego Chamber Orchestra.

In this episode, APS Executive Director Martin Frank talks with University of California physiologist John West about snorkeling elephants, galloping race horses and flying pigeons.

Marshall Montrose tells us why the stomach doesn't digest itself.

And finally, Greg Atkinson describes the benefits the afternoon nap may have for your heart. For the study abstract click here.

The intro and outro music for the Life Lines podcast is from Body Notes, composed by Hector Rasgado-Flores and performed by the San Diego Chamber Orchestra.

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Episode 2: Prosthetic Arms, Frozen Frogs and Alligator Hearts

In this episode of Life Lines, we speak with Todd Kuiken, a doctor at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and a professor at Northwestern University, about his efforts to develop a prosthetic arm that responds directly to signals from the brain. He will describe his latest research, which appears in the Journal of Neurophysiology, published by the American Physiological Society. This segment begins at 1:41.In our 'Ask a Physiologist' section, we'll talk to Ken Storey of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, who will answer the question 'Can an animal freeze, then thaw out and live?' This segment begins at 9:23.In our final segment, APS Executive Director Martin Frank will talk to Jim Hicks of the University of California at Irvine about the uniquely structured alligator heart and the role it plays in digestion. This final segment begins at 18:34.

Photo Credit: Journal of Neurophysiology

To read a summary of the prosthetics study in the Journal of Neurophysiology, please click here.