Human Body Project Proposal
Jenna Beales, Emily Singhal, Ciara Samuel, Alyssa Maniscalco
Model must include at least 2 functions of the organ system (not necessarily the appearance), and can have multiple components (i.e the organ as a whole, and then a portion of the organ that performs a certain function).
It must include:
Fingernail - Will be a hard shell in the shape of a fingernail that is protecting what lies underneath it (a softer substance). The nail will extend over the edge of the model of the finger in order to be able to scratch and poke things.
Skin - Will show the layers of the skin and a hair follicle.
Hand drawn.
Nail - protect the tip of the digit and also be able to perform some sort of motor function (like scratching)
Skin - the hair can stand up on end to demonstrate how your hair reacts to cold or emotion.
Skin model: clay (different colors), balloons, wire
Nail model: nail polish (clear and some other color), styrofoam
We will meet and build it together. For the skin model we will use the different colors of clay to signify the different layers and the balloons will be used in making the top layer of the skin and also part of the hair follicle. The wire will be used as the hair itself. For the nail model we will make a mold of a fingernail and use nail polish to create a nail. The styrofoam will be carved into the shape of the finger.
Goosebumps and your neck hair standing on end are sibling responses, so to speak, caused by fear, low temperatures, stress, or other extreme emotions or conditions. They are both caused by contractions of miniature muscles (attached to each hair) that create a shallow depression on the skin surface. In turn, the surrounding area protrudes causing both bumps on your skin and the hair on your arms and neck to stand on end. Each of these physiological phenomena is inherited from our animal ancestors, according to George A. Bubenik, a physiologist and professor of zoology at Ontario’s University of Guelph, writing in Scientific American.
In animals with a thick hair coat, this response serves any number of purposes. It often occurs as a response to cold and so helps warm the body. Elevated hair expands the layer of air that naturally insulates the body. The response to cold, then, helps an animal’s body more effectively retain heat. In other situations, say, a cat being attacked by a bigger feline, the raised hair, together with an arched back, makes the cat appear bigger and scarier to a predator. Threatened equals threatening, courtesy of a little biophysiology.
However, we humans lack a hair coat, so this physiological response is useless, most people would say. Still, it could be argued that this unusual physical response raises our awareness of possible danger — helps us feel the fear, so to speak.
Underneath the mechanical muscle contraction, after all, is the release of a stress hormone. Adrenaline, also called epinephrine, is produced in two bean-like glands that sit atop the kidneys and released into the bloodstream. Not only does this hormone cause the contractions of skin muscles, it also causes the cascade of physiological responses we fondly refer to as flight-or-fight. The suddenly racing heart, the feeling of "butterflies" in the stomach, trembling hands, sweaty palms — all of these signs tell us that adrenaline is coursing through our veins. In practical terms, the sudden flood of this hormone increases our muscle strength. (No one is joking about the fight part of the equation.)
What is strangest about this hormone, though, is it also may be released during our happiest moments. Sometimes we tremble with joy as we do with fear. "There is a thin line between pleasurable and unpleasurable stress," Bubenik said. Since the brain clearly does not distinguish between danger and delight, we must assume that is a job for the soul.
Goose bumps are the result of a reflex that makes the muscles attached to the base of each hair follicle contract. Next to the hair follicle is a sebaceous gland, which are microscopic exocrine glands in the skin that secrete an oily or waxy matter, called sebum, to lubricate and waterproof the skin and hair of mammals.
We will have to see if any issues or questions turn up as we begin making our models. Currently there are none.
None
Due January 15th
http://www.medicaldaily.com/got-goosebumps-why-stress-responses-can-cause-your-hair-stand-end-328544
Jenna Beales, Emily Singhal, Ciara Samuel, Alyssa Maniscalco
Model must include at least 2 functions of the organ system (not necessarily the appearance), and can have multiple components (i.e the organ as a whole, and then a portion of the organ that performs a certain function).
It must include:
- Description of your model
Fingernail - Will be a hard shell in the shape of a fingernail that is protecting what lies underneath it (a softer substance). The nail will extend over the edge of the model of the finger in order to be able to scratch and poke things.
Skin - Will show the layers of the skin and a hair follicle.
- Drawing of the model
Hand drawn.
- Functions your model will perform
Nail - protect the tip of the digit and also be able to perform some sort of motor function (like scratching)
Skin - the hair can stand up on end to demonstrate how your hair reacts to cold or emotion.
- Materials needed (be practical, consider safety)
Skin model: clay (different colors), balloons, wire
Nail model: nail polish (clear and some other color), styrofoam
- Construction plan - how will you build it
We will meet and build it together. For the skin model we will use the different colors of clay to signify the different layers and the balloons will be used in making the top layer of the skin and also part of the hair follicle. The wire will be used as the hair itself. For the nail model we will make a mold of a fingernail and use nail polish to create a nail. The styrofoam will be carved into the shape of the finger.
- Biology/Physics/Chemistry principles used in the model/functions
Goosebumps and your neck hair standing on end are sibling responses, so to speak, caused by fear, low temperatures, stress, or other extreme emotions or conditions. They are both caused by contractions of miniature muscles (attached to each hair) that create a shallow depression on the skin surface. In turn, the surrounding area protrudes causing both bumps on your skin and the hair on your arms and neck to stand on end. Each of these physiological phenomena is inherited from our animal ancestors, according to George A. Bubenik, a physiologist and professor of zoology at Ontario’s University of Guelph, writing in Scientific American.
In animals with a thick hair coat, this response serves any number of purposes. It often occurs as a response to cold and so helps warm the body. Elevated hair expands the layer of air that naturally insulates the body. The response to cold, then, helps an animal’s body more effectively retain heat. In other situations, say, a cat being attacked by a bigger feline, the raised hair, together with an arched back, makes the cat appear bigger and scarier to a predator. Threatened equals threatening, courtesy of a little biophysiology.
However, we humans lack a hair coat, so this physiological response is useless, most people would say. Still, it could be argued that this unusual physical response raises our awareness of possible danger — helps us feel the fear, so to speak.
Underneath the mechanical muscle contraction, after all, is the release of a stress hormone. Adrenaline, also called epinephrine, is produced in two bean-like glands that sit atop the kidneys and released into the bloodstream. Not only does this hormone cause the contractions of skin muscles, it also causes the cascade of physiological responses we fondly refer to as flight-or-fight. The suddenly racing heart, the feeling of "butterflies" in the stomach, trembling hands, sweaty palms — all of these signs tell us that adrenaline is coursing through our veins. In practical terms, the sudden flood of this hormone increases our muscle strength. (No one is joking about the fight part of the equation.)
What is strangest about this hormone, though, is it also may be released during our happiest moments. Sometimes we tremble with joy as we do with fear. "There is a thin line between pleasurable and unpleasurable stress," Bubenik said. Since the brain clearly does not distinguish between danger and delight, we must assume that is a job for the soul.
Goose bumps are the result of a reflex that makes the muscles attached to the base of each hair follicle contract. Next to the hair follicle is a sebaceous gland, which are microscopic exocrine glands in the skin that secrete an oily or waxy matter, called sebum, to lubricate and waterproof the skin and hair of mammals.
- Unresolved issues or questions
We will have to see if any issues or questions turn up as we begin making our models. Currently there are none.
- Special requirements/requests
None
Due January 15th
http://www.medicaldaily.com/got-goosebumps-why-stress-responses-can-cause-your-hair-stand-end-328544
March 8,2016
- the square clay block represents the skin and will become our hair follicle model
- it functions by a lever attached to a '' hair follicle" and it reacting to the cold by standing up
- we still need to perfect our model and get it to work the way its intended to
- the square clay block represents the skin and will become our hair follicle model
- it functions by a lever attached to a '' hair follicle" and it reacting to the cold by standing up
- we still need to perfect our model and get it to work the way its intended to