American Physiological Society Podcast

APS’ Chief Science Officer Dennis Brown, PhD, recently spoke to astronaut and APS member Jessica Meir, PhD, about her work on the International Space Station. As part of the interview, we asked her for lessons that #StationLife can teach us about living in isolation. Listen to her recommendations and read the full interview in the July issue of The…

From the cutting room floor, here are some of the outtakes about physiology that we thought were just too interesting not to use:1. Dusty Sarazan describes one way that physiological research helped advance cardiac surgery, and also how research led to the development of the modern treadmill2. David Linden talks about our imperfect memories3. David…

Heart attacks peak during the winter months and cold weather has been thought to be the primary culprit. But cardiologist Robert Kloner of the Keck School of Medicine and Good Samaritan Hospital found that heart attack deaths peak on Christmas and New Year's in the mild climate of Los Angeles County. Could it be that the weather is not the most imp…

What would it be like to live without being able to detect any odors? For one thing, Thanksgiving would be much less enjoyable, perhaps disturbingly so. In this episode, we talk to Robert I. Henkin of the Taste and Smell Clinic in Washington, D.C., who will tell us why people lose their sense of smell and how his research can help some people resto…

Dean Franklin developed the first instruments to measure blood flow and the changes in diameter of the pulsating heart in conscious animals. He also pioneered the use of radio waves to measure heart and blood vessel function without wiring the body to the instrument. Dusty Sarazan, a former student of Dean Franklin, explains how these inventions le…

You've heard the word telecomm? In this episode, we are going to coin a new word: elecomm, shorthand for elephant communication. Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell is a Stanford University professor and the author of The Elephant's Secret Sense, published by the University of Chicago Press. Dr. O'Connell-Rodwell discovered that elephant vocalizations travel…

Episode 24: Pregnancy and ExerciseWhen a pregnant woman exercises, is it good for her fetus? That is the question that researchers Linda May of the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and Kathleen Gustafson of the University of Kansas Medical Center are trying to answer. Their work is ongoing, but it is good news, so far, for pregnan…

Three physiologists tell us why the prescription "drink when you are thirsty" is usually the best guideline for deciding when and how much to drink. We will talk to Heinz Valtin of Dartmouth Medical School (retired); Mark Knepper, the chief of the Laboratory of Kidney & Electrolyte Metabolism of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute; and Samu…

There is nothing like a good laugh, is there? It not only feels great to laugh, it can feel great to hear other people laugh. Beyond brightening the mood, can laughter provide tangible health benefits?Lee Berk of Loma Linda University in California has done a series of studies on laughter and its possible physiological effects. We will talk to him …

Did you know that there is a sensor in the nerve endings in the carotid artery that rapidly lowers blood pressure when stimulated? This discovery may one day allow people who are hypertensive to lower their blood pressure by using a pacemaker-like device that stimulates the nerve endings in the blood vessels.In this edition of Life Lines, we talk t…

Celiac Update. Celiac disease is an uncontrolled immune response to wheat gluten and similar proteins of rye and barley. In those who have celiac disease, gluten can damage the small intestine, inhibit nutritional uptake and lead to malnutrition. Among the symptoms are diarrhea, stomach pain, fatigue, weight loss and slow growth. One study estimate…

Have you ever had an experience like this: You and a friend start jogging together. Neither of you have been exercising much, but after a few days, your friend is easily striding along as you wheeze, gasp and hold onto your aching side. Do not feel bad about your performance; it may be your genes.Scientists have identified about 200 genes that play…

Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, has studied romantic love using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Dr. Brown will talk about her studies on what happens in our brains at different stages of love: falling in love, being rejected by a lover, and longterm love. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most commonly di…

Accumulating evidence indicates that an increase in particulate air pollution is associated with an increase in heart attacks and deaths. In this episode, we'll talk to Aruni Bhatnagar of the University of Louisville and Robert Brook of the University of Michigan about research in the relatively new field of environmental cardiology. This field exa…

We’ll start this episode by talking about clocks, but not the type of clock that ticks away on your wall. Instead, we’ll talk about the biological clocks that tick inside us. Clifford Saper of the Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center in Boston will explain some of the research on circadian rhythm and will share his theory about the best way to dea…

Why do we feel sleepy after a big Thanksgiving meal? Is there something in the turkey? Are cranberries good for our kidneys? These are some of the questions our experts will explore. Chris I. Cheeseman of the University of Alberta will talk about tryptophan in turkey. (Begins at 3:17.) L. Lee Hamm of Tulane University School of Medicine will discus…

Halloween is the theme for October, so we'll talk about sleep paralysis, a condition that has been associated with stories of demon attacks during the night. We'll talk to Allan Cheyne of the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Canada about this spooky phenomenon. (Begins at 3:46)We'll also talk to Alexandra Shapiro and Phillip Scarpace of the Univ…

Mice are less susceptible to the flu when they eat quercetin, a substance that occurs in fruits and vegetables. Researcher J. Mark Davis will talk about his study on stressful exercise, quercetin and the flu. Click here for the study. (Begins at 3:55)In the wake of the summer Olympics, we asked Rick Lieber, of the University of California San Diego…

The Buzz in Physiology: (Starts at 2:01) A quick look at studies from APS journals that have been in the news.The Accidental Mind: (Starts at 4:17) How is your brain like an ice cream cone? David Linden, author of "The Accidental Mind" explains. Dr. Linden is the editor of the Journal of Neurophysiology and is a researcher and teacher at Johns Hopk…

The Buzz in Physiology: (Begins at 1:34) A quick look at studies from APS journals that have been in the news.Athletic Performance and Caffeine: (Begins at 3:05) Taking caffeine and carbohydrates together following exercise refuels the muscles more rapidly, according to a study from the Journal of Applied Physiology done by Australian researcher Jo…

Segment 1: What a Gas. University of Alabama – Birmingham researchers Jeannette Doeller and David Kraus talk about the amazing properties of hydrogen sulfide gas. Although it’s lethal in even minute quantities, our bodies produce it and use it to good effect. Episode 10 graphic courtesy of David Kraus. Begins at 1:15.Segment 2: Research Progress on…

Two segments, total time: 25:48. The second segment 14:40.Segment 1: Warm body, cold heart: Barbara Block of Stanford University talks about her research with the bluefin tuna, one of the few fish species to have a warm body. You can see how marine animals are being tracked by going to www.topp.org.Segment 2: Longer, deeper: Andreas Fahlman of the …

Jay B. Dean, a professor at the University of South Florida, discusses the aviation research that physiologists did during World War II. This research helped the Allies win the Air War. Dr. Dean has prepared a presentation on this topic for the Experimental Biology conference taking place in San Diego, April 5-9.The theme music you hear at the begi…

This is a re-issue of Episode 7!Nanoparticles, which are 1,000 times smaller than a bacterium, are being manufactured and incorporated into some commercial products such as cosmetics and clothing. While nanotechnology holds promise, there is little understanding of how these super small particles might affect us if they get inside our bodies.Two re…

We continue our coverage of Experimental Biology 2008 with an interview with Michigan State University Professor Stephanie W. Watts, who has been investigating whether serotonin plays a role in high blood pressure.The APS has awarded Dr. Watts the Henry Pickering Bowditch Memorial Award for early-career achievement. The award goes to a scientist yo…

In this episode of Life Lines, we talk to David Vesely, a professor at the University of South Florida and chief of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa. Dr. Vesely talks about his research investigating the use of heart hormones as a treatment for cancer. He has just finished trials with mice and …

In this episode, we'll talk to Ronald Sorkness (1:29) about his study on severe asthma that appears in the Journal of Applied Physiology. We'll also ask David Spierer (13:23) whether there might be physiological benefits in playing an interactive video game. And APS President Hannah Carey (21:13) will explain how physiological research can help pre…

In this special episode of Life Lines, we talk to John West, a professor of medicine at the University of California, who shares his memories of the late Sir Edmund Hillary. West accompanied Hillary to Mount Everest in 1960, helping to uncover how the body acclimatizes to the extremes of altitude.The music you hear at the beginning and end of Life …

In this special holiday edition of the podcast, we’ll talk to Perry Barboza of the institute of arctic biology at the university of Alaska in Fairbanks and Lisa Leon of the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick Massachusetts.Dr. Barboza explains how a reindeer's physiology allows survival under such frigid winters with so…

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 …

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 s…