This week marks the start of the 2017 Tour de France. This year the race covers 2,200 miles in 21 days of racing, comprised of team and individual time trials as well as stages through cities, countryside and mountains of France.

The Tour de France is interesting to me because it provides an excellent opportunity for a short lesson in sports physiology.

All of the riders in the Tour are exceptionally fit since their bodies have adapted to years of dedicated, intense training. Endurance sports like cycling are dependent on the delivery of oxygenated blood to the muscle to produce ATP, the energy needed to sustain exercise.

The riders have large, strong hearts, resulting in the ejection of more blood to the muscle. Within the muscle there is an increase in the number of capillaries, the small blood vessels that deliver blood to the muscle, and mitochondria, the part of the cell that produces most of the ATP. Together, these adaptations allow the muscle to produce more ATP without fatigue, allowing the athlete to exercise at a higher intensity for a longer time.

But training isnt the only reason these athletes can sustain such intense exercise for so long. Proper nutrition, especially what the athletes eat and drink before, during and after each stage, also plays an important role.

Intense endurance exercise like cycling relies on carbohydrates, in particular, muscle glycogen, as a fuel. Muscle glycogen is a storage form of glucose, sugar that the muscle converts into energy. During prolonged exercise that lasts several hours, muscle glycogen levels can be severely depleted.

Eating carbohydrates before exercise can boost muscle glycogen levels, so cyclists eat carbohydrate-rich foods for breakfast before each stage. They also consume carbohydrates in the form of sports drinks (think Gatorade) and energy bars prior to starting.

In fact, they start replenishing their muscle glycogen immediately after finishing the previous days ride. This usually begins with a recovery beverage, which may contain some protein for more rapid muscle glycogen synthesis, and extends through carbohydrate-rich meals and snacks that afternoon and evening.

During exercise it is crucial to maintain adequate blood glucose levels, which tend to drop since the muscle is using so much as a fuel. Failure to replenish blood glucose results in what cyclists call hitting the wall or bonking, which is like your car running out of gas. To prevent this, glucose must be replenished, typically with sports drinks, energy bars or a sugary mixture called goo.

Prolonged, intense exercise, especially in the heat, results in a high sweat rate, which can lead to dehydration. Sweat loss of several liters per hour is not uncommon during cycling, so fluid intake is essential. This means that cyclists spend a lot of time drinking water while they ride. Sports drinks are also commonly used since they contain carbohydrates and electrolytes in addition to water.

Endurance events like cycling, especially multi-stage events like the Tour de France, highlight important concepts of sports physiology. Even though you may never compete at that level, understanding how training can improve your endurance is relevant if you cycle or run, walk or swim for exercise.

Knowing how proper nutrition before, during and after exercise can improve performance can help you make better decision about what to eat. Hopefully, it also gives you a greater appreciation for the science that goes into a performance like the Tour de France.

Brian Parr, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Exercise and Sports Science at USC Aiken where he teaches courses in exercise physiology, nutrition and health behavior. You can learn more about this and other health and fitness topics at http://drparrsays.com or on Twitter @drparrsays.

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HEALTH AND FITNESS: Sport physiology in the Tour de France - Aiken Standard

Physiology is the branch of biology that deals with the functions and processes of living organisms, both animals and plants. It's biology in motion.

Physiology includes everything from how a single cell functions, to what makes your nerve receptors work, how your pancreas releases insulin, and what happens to your muscles when you exercise. Technology has made for great leaps in the science of physiology. The electron microscope, for instance, allows you to see down to even the molecules of the cell, and radioactive isotopes provide the means to track the movement of substances within an organism.

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physiology - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

1 Cellular Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Autonomic Nervous System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

3 Neurophysiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

4 Cardiovascular Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

5 Respiratory Physiology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

6 Renal Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

7 Acid-Base Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

8 Gastrointestinal Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

9 Endocrine Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

10 Reproductive Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Appendix I Common Abbreviations and Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469

Appendix II Normal Values and Constants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .471

Challenge Yourself Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .477

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Physiology - 9781455708475 | US Elsevier Health Bookshop

CARBONDALE Howard H. Olson passed away peacefully with his wife and children by his side, in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, on June 21, 2017.

A frequent and enthusiastic traveler, he had just completed his last of many trips. This one was, to celebrate his 90th birthday and the graduation of his youngest grandchild in California.

Howard Olson was born May 23, 1927, in Chicago, the son of the late Halfdan G. Olson and Ruth Swanson Olson.

Howard was a lifelong learner. He graduated from Carl Schurz High School in Chicago in 1944. Upon graduating, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, receiving a B.S. in dairy science in 1948. He continued his education at the University of Minnesota, earning his doctorate in dairy science and physiology in 1952. His interest in agriculture stemmed from spending his summers on his mothers parents farm in Amery, Wisconsin.

He met his first wife, Maurine Fay Schroeder, while they were studying at the University of Minnesota. They were married in 1951.

After receiving his doctorate, Howard served as director of research with Curtiss Candy Farms in Cary, for two years before leaving to become a professor of Dairy Science at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where he remained until his retirement in 1989. In addition to teaching multiple generations of students, he taught and conducted research programs in Dairy Cattle Management and Reproductive Physiology.

Howards interest in dairy science as well as his willingness to embrace new experiences and challenges led to a lifetime of teaching, research, and learning throughout the world. He served as director of International Agriculture at SIU, managing programs in Brazil, Zambia, and Pakistan. His interest in international work started in 1966 when he, family in tow, left for Cairo, Egypt, where he took a position as a Fulbright Lecturer at Ain Shams University for a year. Once this interest started, it never abated. Shortly after his time in Egypt, he took off for Hyderabad, India, serving as a Dairy Cattle Management trainer for Peace Corps volunteers. Then, in 1981, he served as a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Peradeniya in Kandy, Sri Lanka. His international interest outlasted his tenure as a professor. After retirement, he served on Farmer-to-Farmer assignments in Egypt, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Nicaragua, and Mexico.

His international forays aside, Howard lived in Carbondale, for most of his professional life, where he and Maurine raised their four children. After Maurines death, he moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where his daughter Kirstens family lived at the time in 1992. In 2001, he married Ethel Devendorf and moved to Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. During the last two decades of his life, he traveled the world with Ethel and enjoyed summers every year on Stoner Lake in Caroga Lake, New York.

He was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Social Fraternity and of Alpha Zeta and Sigma Xi Honorary Fraternities.

Throughout his life, he was an active member of the Lutheran Church.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Maurine Fay Schroeder Olson (1990) and his daughter, Gwen Lucas (1999).

He is survived by his wife, Ethel Irene Klinger Devendorf; his children, Kurt Olson and family of Miami, Florida, Kirsten Olson and family of Arlington, Virginia, and Karin Olson and family of Palo Alto, California; and his seven grandchildren; two great-grandsons; three stepchildren; eight stepgrandchildren; and 13 great-stepgrandchildren.

Memorials may be presented to Shepherd of the Sea Lutheran Church, (www.shepherdofthesea.com).

An interment service will be conducted at the Sunset Memorial Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Burroughs Funeral Home and Cremation Services (843-651-1440) of Murrells Inlet is assisting the family.

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Howard H. Olson - The Southern

Eric Wiley @EWileySJ

Students will now be able to experience night flying of unmanned aircraft, thanks to a three-year waiver granted by the FAA to the Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus Applied Aviation Research Center.

The Federal Aviation Administration granted the waiver because flying an unmanned aircraft after sunset is not permitted under the FAAs Part 107 rule, the regulatory framework for civil and commercial small UAS operations.

David Burchfield, teaching assistant professor, said it will allow the school to expose students to different flight scenarios they might encounter after graduation.

There are an increasing number of night applications for UAS, such as search and rescue and ag mapping, that are becoming important. Exposing them to as many scenarios as possible will help them be better prepared for what they could face," he said.

Burchfield said the waiver can be used at both the Salina and Manhattan campuses and for any research being conducted by the university.

A first look

On Friday, K-State Polytechnic instructor Travis Balthazor conducted a commercial remote pilot training course for professionals seeking to fly UAS at night.

The course included one hour of classroom instruction covering night flight basics, necessary waivers and exemptions as well as how to set up a night-flight operation.

The FAA requires that everyone be trained on how to conduct site surveys such as identifying obstacles and hazards, Balthazor said. We go over that as well as possible night illusions, hardware requirements and human physiology and how our eyes adapt to night and the differences in day and night vision.

Additionally, students practiced night flight using an S-1000 multi-rotor aircraft.

Cones with lights were set up and students went over basic skills before attempting more difficult maneuvers.

I wanted to get them uncomfortable with the situation and where they are at in space, Balthazor said. We push them out far. We then use potential situations such as failure of motor, grand control station, primary control failure and an encroaching aircraft to see how they responded to them.

Applying knowledge

Jackson County sheriffs deputy Jeffery Roberts, who participated in Fridays course, said night search and rescue flights can be the difference in whether we find someone dead or alive.

Just a few weeks ago we had to do a search-and-rescue, but luckily we found that person during the day. If it had gotten to night and we didnt find them, we would have had to wait until the morning to continue the search.

If Im able to get trained and my department can get a waiver, then we can do search and rescues at night and better serve our people.

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KSU Polytechnic now offering UAS night flying in curriculum - Salina Journal

Above: Middle school students make models of neurons at the Colorado State University Todos Santos Center during the first day of the biomedical sciences anatomy and physiology outreach week.

Cmo movemos nuestros cuerpos?

CSU biomedical sciences PhD candidate Asghar Ali works with a student from Mexicos National Pedagogic University to teach K-12 students about the heart at the Colorado State University Todos Santos Center during the first day of the biomedical sciences anatomy and physiology outreach week.

CSU student Hannah Haberecht asked a group of Mexican middle school students, How do we move our bodies? as she engaged them in a discussion about how muscles work. Two volunteers then came forward to try out the muscle stimulator machine she had set up, which reads an electrical signal traveling from one person and stimulates nerves in their partner, causing their hand to jerk involuntarily.

They absolutely loved it, Haberecht said. Over 400 K-12 students came by her booth that May day as part of the Department of Biomedical Sciences first anatomy and physiology outreach event at the Colorado State University Todos Santos Center. All of the students were engaged and interested in the materialit was a lot of fun.

Haberecht, a biomedical sciences junior, traveled to Todos Santos, Mexico, with a group that included three graduate students, five undergraduate students, physiology instructor Kayla Brown, and C.W. Miller, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences who also serves as associate department head and director of its undergraduate program.

CSU biomedical sciences senior Conner Weeth teaches middle school students about the lungs during the first day of the biomedical sciences anatomy and physiology outreach week. Students then used balloons to build lung models and demonstrate how they work.

CSUs Department of Biomedical Sciences routinely introduces youth to its renowned anatomy and physiology instruction through interactive K-12 community events staffed by faculty and student volunteers. These programs showcase a variety of learning stations that inspire young people to get excited about science and health.

This was the departments first trip to Todos Santos, with the goal of expanding the scope of its outreach program while providing CSU biomedical sciences students with international outreach experience.

The CSU students presented material in Spanish at several activity stations that included walking the path food takes as it travels through the digestive system, mimicking how the heart pumps blood, building a neuron, demonstrating how the lungs work, exploring muscle contraction, testing reflexes, equilibrium, reaction times, and visual perception, and more.

They collaborated with a group of college students from Mexicos National Pedagogic University,who helped them translate their presentation and answer questions from the local K-12 students.

The CSU biomedical sciences anatomy and physiology outreach team with their peers from Mexicos National Pedagogic University in front of the Colorado State University Todos Santos Center.

It was an amazing and unforgettable experience for every individual involved, and it will be exciting to see how this project can grow in the future, Brown said.

By the end of the week, the group had interacted with nearly 900 people through a series of open houses and school visits.

The chance to providephysiology outreach to local Spanish-speaking students with talented biomedical sciences students and my highly organized and positive colleague Kayla Brown wasthe highlight of my year, Miller said. And seeing the interactions between our students and the enthusiastic local children, as well as the talented students from the National Pedagogic University, was very uplifting.

Aines Castro Prieto, director of the CSU Todos Santos Center, congratulated the group for their excellent work and passion and hopes to see the outreach event happen again next year.

The biomedical sciences students agreed that the trip was one of the best experiences of their lives.

I got so much out of it, Haberecht said. Not only was it meaningful and took me out of my comfort zone, it was my first time traveling to a non-English speaking country and seeing a significantly different culture. Being able to form such strong connections with everyone we worked with, despite the language barrier, was really powerful.

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Spanish- and English-speaking students connect through science in Todos Santos - Source

University of Alabama awards degrees in Spring 2017 ceremonies

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. The University of Alabama awarded approximately 5,000 degrees during spring commencement May 5-7.

Area students who received degrees included:

Brianna Cribb of Valdosta: Master of Arts.

Amanda Turner of Homerville: Master of Social Work.

VALDOSTA Valdosta State University recently recognized 21 graduate assistants for the contributions they made to the promotion of research, teaching, and service while pursuing their advanced degrees during the 2016-2017 academic year. Each of these students was chosen based on their reliability, quality of work, initiative, professionalism, and uniqueness of contribution. This list includes:

Camden Reynolds of Valdosta, who was honored by the Department of Communication Arts.

Laura Hanna of Valdosta, who was honored by the Honors College.

Mischelle Fischer of Valdosta, who was honored by the Department of Womens and Gender Studies.

Njeri Pringle of Valdosta, who was honored by the Student Success Center and was named First Runner-Up for the title of Graduate Assistant of the Year.

Patricia Sumner of Valdosta, who was honored by the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Phillip Wood of Valdosta, who was honored by the Department of Music.

Tiffany Newman of Valdosta, who was honored by the Department of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology.

ATLANTA The Georgia Institute of Technology presented degrees to approximately 3,800 undergraduate and graduate students during the Institutes 253rd Commencement exercises on May 5-6, 2017, at the McCamish Pavilion.

Andrew Akers of Valdosta (31602) - Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Chaker Fares of Valdosta (31602) - Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Mark Garren of Valdosta (31602) - Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Claire Hanson of Valdosta (31602) - Bachelor of Science in Biology

Zach Justice of Valdosta (31602) - Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Laura Murphy of Valdosta (31602) - Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

Katherine Martin of Valdosta (31603) - Bachelor of Science in Architecture

Mitchell Beeland of Valdosta (31605) - Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering

Dr. Wendy Johnston Bamford

AUGUSTA Wendy Johnston Bamford graduated May 2017 with a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the Dental College of Georgia in Augusta.

Bamford is a 2000 Lowndes High School Honor graduate; Valdosta State University Magna Cum Laude graduate with an Early Childhood degree; and graduate from Florida State University with a Masters degree in Sepcial Ed.

Bamford is the daughter of Bart and Ellen Carnes Johnston, formerly of Lake Park. She is married and have two children. Bamford will be serving the Native Alaskan population in Barrow, Alaska as a dentist at Samuel Simmons Memorial Hospital beginning in July.

TIFTON- Jana Register of Valdosta has been selected to serve as a member of the Stallion Society at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Register is a senior politics and modern cultures major.

Stallion Society leaders welcome and aid incoming students at orientation as students transition to college. Members of the Stallion Society, after an application and interview process, are chosen for their enthusiasm, leadership ability, and good academic standing.

LAGRANGE Seth Timothy Golden has been named to the Spring Semester 2017 Vice President for Academic Affairs List at LaGrange College.Students must successfully attain a minimum grade point average of 3.6 to be named to the list.

VALDOSTA The College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Valdosta State University recently recognized 20 nursing, exercise physiology, and athletic training students for outstanding achievement during the 2016-2017 academic year.

Aubrey Sweeney of Ray City earned the Leadership Award from the School of Health Sciencess Exercise Physiology Program.

Austin Strabala of Valdosta earned the Jim Madaleno Distinguished Award and the Outstanding Senior Athletic Training Student Award from the School of Health Sciencess Athletic Training Program.

Cameron Buescher of Valdosta earned the Academic Achievement Award from the School of Health Sciencess Exercise Physiology Program.

Justin Lipsey of Nashville earned the Academic Achievement Award from the School of Health Sciencess Exercise Physiology Program.

Megan Clark of Valdosta earned the Dr. Joan Futch Leadership Award from the School of Nursing.

Mitchell Browning of Nashville earned the South Georgia Medical Center Award from the School of Nursing.

Susannah Harvell of Pavo earned the Clinical Excellence Award from the School of Health Sciencess Athletic Training Program.

William Crum of Valdosta earned the Academic Achievement Award from the School of Health Sciencess Exercise Physiology Program. He also earned the Outstanding Student Award from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. University of Alabama student Caroline E Dean of Valdosta, was named to the Deans List for Spring 2017.

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Education Briefs - Valdosta Daily Times

Open Access

Lei Zhao, Dongmei Cheng, Xiahe Huang, Mei Chen, Luca Dall'Osto, Jiale Xing, Liyan Gao, Lingyu Li, Yale Wang, Roberto Bassi, Lianwei Peng, Yingchun Wang, Jean-David Rochaix, Fang Huang

Plant Physiol. pp.01465.2016; First Published on June 21, 2017

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Plant Physiology

June 21, 2017 12:00 ET | Source: Center for the Advancement of Science in Space

Kennedy Space Center, FL, June 21, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced five grants have been awarded in response to afunding opportunityfocused on human physiology and disease onboard the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory. Data from this research which will feature tissue chips (or organs-on-chips) will help scientists develop and advance novel technologies to improve human health here on Earth. These initial five projects are part of a four-year collaboration through which NCATS will provide two-years of initial funding of approximately $6 million, to use tissue chip technology for translational research onboard the ISS National Laboratory. Awardees will be eligible for a subsequent two years of funding, pending availability of funds, based upon performance and achieving milestones for each project.

The opportunity to partner with CASIS to perform tissue chip science on the International Space Station is a remarkable opportunity to understand disease and improve human health, said NCATS Director Christopher P. Austin, M.D. Physiological functions in the microgravity of the International Space Station will provide insights that will increase translational effectiveness on earth, including identifying novel targets for drug discovery and development.

The NCATS grants will support the following research projects:

Lung Host Defense in Microgravity

George Worthen, M.D. and Dan Huh, M.D, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (PA)

Implementation Partners: Space Technology and Advanced Research Systems (STaARS) and SpacePharma Inc

There is a link between infections and the health of our immune system. Infections are commonly reported onboard spacecraft where exposure to microgravity negatively affects immune system function, but the mechanisms responsible are not well understood. The goals of this project are to test engineered microphysiological systems that model the airway and bone marrow; and to combine the models to emulate and understand the integrated immune responses of the human respiratory system in microgravity.

Organs-on-Chips as a Platform for Studying Effects of Microgravity on Human Physiology: Blood-Brain Barrier-Chip in Health and Disease

Christopher Hinojosa, M.S. and Katia Karalis, D.S., M.D, Emulate, Boston (MA)

Implementation Partner: SpaceTango

The objective of this project is to validate, optimize and further develop Emulates proprietary Organs-On-Chips technology platform for experimentation with human cells in space. The intent is to develop an automated platform and software to accelerate experimentation in space that will become available to the broader scientific community for studies in human physiology and disease in space. The scientific findings will provide new advancements for Earth studies in human disease and drug discovery. The Brain-Chip to be studied in microgravity is a prototype for an organ system centrally positioned in homeostasis and thus, involved in the pathogenesis of multiple types of disease including neurodegeneration, traumatic injury, and cancer.

Cartilage-Bone-Synovium Microphysiological System: Musculoskeletal Disease Biology in Space

Alan Grodzinsky, Sc.D., M.S and Murat Cirit, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (MA)

Implementation Partner: Techshot

This research focuses on a cartilage-bone-synovium joint tissue chip model to study the effects of space flight on musculoskeletal disease biology, motivated by post-traumatic osteoarthritis and bone loss. The effects of pharmacological agents to ameliorate bone and cartilage degeneration will be tested on earth and in the International Space Station, using a quantitative and high-content experimental and computational approach.

Microgravity as Model for Immunological Senescence and its Impact on Tissue Stem Cells and Regeneration

Sonja Schrepfer, M.D., Ph.D., Tobias Deuse, M.D., and Heath J. Mills, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco (CA)

Implementation Partner: Space Technology Advanced Research Systems (STaARS)

Many space-related physiological changes resemble those observed during cellular aging, including defects in bone healing, loss of cardiovascular and neurological capacity, and altered immune function. This project aims to investigate the relationship between an individuals immune aging and healing outcomes, and to investigate the biology of aging from two directionsnot only during its development in microgravity conditions but also during recovery after return to earths environment.

Effects of Microgravity on the Structure and Function of Proximal and Distal Tubule Microphysiological System

Jonathan Himmelfarb, M.D., and Ed Kelly, M.S, Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle (WA)

Implementation Partner: BioServe Space Technologies

When healthy, your two kidneys work together filter about 110 to 140 liters of blood to produce about 1 to 2 liters of urine every day. Dehydration or diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure impair kidney function and result in serious medical conditions including protein in the urine and kidney stones. Like osteoporosis, these conditions are even more common and follow an accelerated time-course in people living in microgravity. This project will send a kidney model to the International Space Station in order to understand how microgravity and other factors affect kidney function, and to use these discoveries to design better treatments for proteinuria, osteoporosis, and kidney stones on earth.

Our partnership with NCATS builds upon dramatic results fostered by public and private investment in organ-on-chip research and enables these pioneering researchers the opportunity to leverage the ISS National Laboratory to further advance an integral and burgeoning area of medical discovery to improve human health on Earth, said CASIS Deputy Chief Scientist Dr. Michael Roberts. Additionally, through these creative and collaborative partnerships with established granting agencies like the NCATS, the ISS National Lab demonstrates that research in microgravity is a viable setting to push beyond the terrestrial limits of scientific discovery and opportunity.

All grants and subsequent flight opportunities are contingent on final contract agreements between the award recipients, NCATS and CASIS.

For more information on the NCATS Tissue Chip for Drug Screening Program, including Tissue Chips in Space, please visit https://ncats.nih.gov/tissuechip.

To learn more about the on-orbit capabilities of the ISS National Lab, including past research initiatives and available facilities, visitwww.spacestationresearch.com.

# # #

About CASIS: The Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) is the non-profit organization selected to manage the ISS National Laboratory with a focus on enabling a new era of space research to improve life onEarth. In this innovative role, CASIS promotes and brokers a diverse range of research inlife sciences,physical sciences,remote sensing,technology development,andeducation.

Since 2011, the ISS National Lab portfolio has included hundreds of novel research projects spanning multiple scientific disciplines, all with the intention of benefitting life on Earth. Working together with NASA, CASIS aims to advance the nations leadership in commercial space, pursue groundbreaking science not possible on Earth, and leverage the space station to inspire the next generation.

About the ISS National Laboratory:In 2005, Congress designated the U.S. portion of the International Space Station as the nation's newest national laboratory to maximize its use for improving life on Earth, promoting collaboration among diverse users, and advancing STEM education. This unique laboratory environment is available for use by other U.S. government agencies and by academic and private institutions, providing access to the permanent microgravity setting, vantage point in low Earth orbit, and varied environments of space.

# # #

Attachments:

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/87bf4685-0ff3-4650-98dc-6ba3709e125a

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4efb40f5-4081-428a-8548-9602bcb08511

Related Articles

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CASIS and NCATS Announce Five Projects Selected from ... - GlobeNewswire (press release)

By 2100, if nations continue to burn fossil fuels at the current rates, three out of four people will be at risk from lethal heatwaves.

And even if the governments of the world act on promises they made in 2015 and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, almost one in two could face the risk of sickness and death by intolerable heat.

That is because, as the temperatures rise, heat and humidity begin to challenge human physiology. Humans are adapted to body temperatures of around 37C. If humidity the levels of water vapour in the air go up with the thermometer, then people caught in a zone of extreme heat cannot adjust body temperatures by perspiration.

And with every 1C rise in temperatures, the capacity of the air to hold moisture goes up by 7%. People with no access to air conditioning or a cool breeze become at high risk.

It happened in Europe in 2003, when an estimated 70,000 died. A heatwave in Moscow in 2010 killed around 10,000. And researchers warned years ago that under global warming predictions, more such extremes of heat would become inevitable by 2020.

Heatwaves pose a considerable risk to human life because hot weather, aggravated with high humidity, can raise body temperature, leading to life-threatening conditions.

We are running out of choices for the future, said Camilo Mora, a geographer at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who led the study.

For heatwaves, our options are now between bad or terrible. Many people around the world are already paying the ultimate price of heatwaves, and while models suggest that this is likely to continue, it could be much worse if emissions are not considerably reduced.

The human body can only function within a narrow range of core body temperatures around 37C. Heatwaves pose a considerable risk to human life because hot weather, aggravated with high humidity, can raise body temperature, leading to life-threatening conditions.

Dr Mora and colleagues warned years ago that by 2016 climate would change inexorably in at least some regions of the globe. More recently he and colleagues calculated that the relentless increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere could limit the growing season and pose a threat to world food security. History has yet to deliver a verdict on either prediction.

But the warning about heatwaves starts from facts already available. One scientific group has calculated the humidity and temperature hazards and predicted that at least one climate zone the Gulf between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula could become murderously hot by the centurys end.

A second study of heatwaves over recent decades in India has established a link between extremes of heat, climate change and mass death.

Dr Mora and colleagues in the US and Britain report in Nature Climate Change that they found evidence on a global scale. They began with 30,000 relevant publications and identified 911 scientific papers with data on 1,949 case studies of cities or regions where deaths were associated with high temperatures.

From this mass of information they found 783 lethal heatwaves in 164 cities across 36 countries, with most cases recorded in developed countries at mid-latitudes since 1980: in cities such as New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, London, Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney and So Paulo.

From this data, they found a common threshold at which temperatures and humidities became lethal: that is, as relative humidity climbed, even lower temperatures could kill. And then they devised a world map of those cities and regions most at risk.

Right now, one human in three lives in a climate zone in which death by extreme heat is or could be possible. The area in which such conditions are liable to happen on at least 20 days a year is predicted to grow.

By 2100 New York could have around 50 days in which conditions could be potentially lethal. In Sydney, Australia the number of such deadly days could be 20, for Los Angeles 30.

For Orlando, Florida and for Houston, Texas the entire summer could exceed the thresholds at which people have been known to die.

People are talking about the future when it comes down to climate change, but what we found from this paper is that this is already happening. In fact since 1980 we found close to 2,000 cases of these places and cities when people died from this, and this is obviously going to get a lot worse, Dr Mora said.

Notoriously, President Trump has announced that he will withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement of 2015 to contain average global warming to well below 2C by the centurys end.

The implication of the Hawaiian research is that if nations act in a concerted way to reduce fossil fuel emissions, an estimated 48% of the human population could be at risk of summer extremes. And if they do not, this hazard rises to 74%.

Climate change has put humanity on a path that will become increasingly dangerous and difficult to reverse if greenhouse gas emissions are not taken much more seriously, Dr Mora said.

Action like the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is a step in the wrong direction that will inevitably delay fixing a problem for which there is simply no time to waste.

This story was originally published by Climate News Network.

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Heatwaves are testing the limits of human physiology more and more - Fusion