Anatomy and Physiology
retrospectacle | September 28, 2007 Some Japanese researchers have engineered frogs with transparent skin, so organs, blood vessels, or even tumors can be observed without performing a dissection.
"You can watch organs of the same frog over its entire life as you don't have to dissect it. The researcher can also observe how toxins affect bones, livers and other organs at lower costs," he told AFP.
The frogs are rare mutants of the Japanese brown frog (Rena japonica), which have been crossed to contain two sets of recessive genes. The mutants are fertile, as are their offspring, but the grandchildren die shortly after birth. A…
retrospectacle | September 4, 2007Yahoo News reports on a recent study by Dr. Francois Carre of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, France, which found that almost all cyclists competing in the Tour de France had enlarged hearts. The size increase was on the order of 20-40% larger than normal! He thought it would interesting to see whether the cyclists' hearts are large to begin with or expand to accomodate the rigors of training (probably both). A bigger heart translates to more blood-pumping ability which in turn translated to increased oxygenation of blood and tissues.
In his study, Carre tracked seven former…