The Integumentary System

http://www.uchospitals.edu/online-library/content=CDR258035

        Ahhh skin, what would we do without it? The truth is, we wouldn't survive without our skin.  Our skin is what makes up our integumentary system. The integumentary system does many things for the good of our body. It protects the body's internal living tissues and organs, protects against invasion by infectious organisms, retains water to prevent dehydration, protects the body against temperature change, helps dispose of waste materials, is a receptor for touch, pressure, pain, heat, and coldness, and it stores water and fat. All of these functions are vital for us to survive and maintain homeostasis within the body.

       One thing you might notice about your skin that is different than other organs (yes it is an organ) is its elasticity and its ability to stretch constantly. This is important so we can maintain a barrier between our body and the outside world and still be able to move our joints and flex our muscles without the skin breaking. The skins rich network of elastic and collagen fibers is what makes it so flexible. 

       The skin is not very thick. you may know this from when you get a cut. You obviously don't have to cut very deep to see the blood from the capillaries below start to come to the surface. But the skin being thin has its advantages.  The skin is perfect for things like absorption and secretion. You may notice that sweat and oils are secreted from the skin. You might also see that your skin absorbs things.  If some medicines are applied topically on the skin, it can be absorbed into the blood stream. However keep in mind that the skin is selectively permeable. Keratin keeps water from being absorbed through direct contact. So basically if you go swimming keratin is the reason your cells don't explode. 

http://www.redefiningthefaceofbeauty.com/2013/04/are-you-suffering-from-extreme-sweating.html

       Your skin can do extraordinary things. One thing it does for us is help maintain a good homeostatic balance in our bodies.  When your body gets hot, you sweat. When your skin gets cold it sends messages to the hypothalamus to tell the body to shiver or trigger constriction.  Our skin is also a great way to contact our outside environment by using nerve receptors in the skin to sense pressure, pain, and heat. These things also help us voluntarily react to the environment around us.  The integument system is truly amazing in the way it works in our body to complete several tasks.

Three Weekly Questions

What tasks have you completed recently?

Well, that raffle didn't do so hot this week. We made like 30 bucks. I actually just got back home from a tennis tournament in El Paso. Didn't do as well as I wanted to, BUT the tennis tournament continues tomorrow so I have two more matches to play. Hopefully I'll do better. Oh! Also on Monday, I made a little speech to the 8th graders on 8th grade open house night about how Mayfield is awesome and why wouldn't you want to be a Trojan and such.  Some people found it quite amusing.  I got my solo for solo and Ensemble. So I'll be working on that piece of music for the next two weeks. Then in Symphony I got on the first "Tromba" part. Apparently "tromba" is the old word for trumpet. I think its Italian or something. I don't know, I only speak English jeesh. It has lots of fun solo's though.

What have you learned recently?

Well. I think this week has been blahhadfhasldkjfadfzzahsf. You know what I mean right? Like I learned stuff but I don't remember most of it. Well I can't say that, it's just the stuff this week isn't as significant as other weeks. Maybe..... I think I learned how to solve polynomial equations in Algebra 2. Woops. I forgot I had math homework. I should probably try not to forget that. Uhhh, other than that it's just the integumentary system that I took notes on and stuff. In English we learned some new vocabulary and got some homework.  So yeah.

What are you planning on doing next?

Well I plan to do better in the tennis tournament tomorrow than I did today. I also plan to get my racket re-strung this weekend. Um we plan to make our next raffle thing more fun and integrative for the people so we have more people enter than this time.  I finally figured out what this years prom theme is gonna be after like 50 people asking me. Its gonna be The Great Gatsby themed. Uh next, I plan to sleep a lot its a 3 day weekend. And I plan to finish our mesa board and car for competition on the 26th. That will be fun.

Three Weekly Questions

What tasks have you completed recently?
Let's see, tasks.... Oh! I have one. So being the president of freshmen class it is my responsibility to organize things and make meetings and a bunch of other junk. Anyways, I had a great fundraiser idea and we decided to go through with it. We are selling raffle tickets for a valentines day date night. The tickets are $1 and you have a chance to win a $25 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings and two movie passes. The best part is the gift card and movie passes were donated so everything we earn is profit.  So we made posters and planned out who will work the table at lunch and before school. We also made arrangements to get it advertised on the power-point on all of the TV's at Mayfield. So it was a pretty big step forward for freshmen class and this is the first year the freshmen class has actually done something. Cool beans right?

What have you learned recently?
Well, I think the biggest thing I learned this week was how to serve the ball for more power.  I learned how to serve the ball in a totally different way that puts the ball more under my control and it is much easier to hit harder. I think this has made me an overall better tennis player.

What are you planning on doing next?
I would love to ace the chapter 4 test in anatomy. That'd be fantastic. I've really been stressing out about the amount of homework I've had in all of my classes. So I plan to get it all turned in on time even if it means staying up really late doing nothing but homework. Gotta keep that 4.0 going strong.  I also plan to do my best for my audition for a solo in our jazz festival piece. I hope that goes well. Also I plan (and hope) to make it to the end of the week without drowning in school. Intense right?

How is Tissue is like Silk??

So when I was watching the TED Talk video by Fio Omenetto, I had a constant connection in my mind going on between the similarities between the tissues we just learned about in anatomy, and the silk. Cells are what make up tissues in our body. These cells are all made of the same DNA, however it is the controlled expression of genes within the DNA that differentiates the cells form and function. So, from the video about silk, we learned that it can be formed in many different ways to serve endless purposes within our body. If you think about it, tissue and silk aren't all that different. They both represent how form affects function and vice-versa. Lets take an example. There is cartilage in your nose. So lets say for some reason this cartilage becomes damaged and it is not being repaired by your body. Well, since the extracellular matrix is what makes up most of connective tissue, many protein based fibers are used within the cartilage. Silk can be used in the same why by using proteins to make fibers that can substitute for the cartilage. Now keep in mind that this situation is hypothetical and it is unlikely that we have the ability to do this. However the concept that silk and tissue have direct correlations between form and function is extremely important. I predict that in the next several decades, we will have bio-engineered silk to the point where we can manipulate it to have exactly the same form and functions of our tissue and cells. How about your? What do you think silk will serve as in the future? I think this 5 millennial-old material has the potential to become something great.

Image from: http://www.organovo.com/science-technology
/bioprinted-human-tissue/architecturally-correct-tissue

Image from: http://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/high-strength

-silk-scaffolds-improve-bone-rep

Three Weekly Questions

1. What tasks have you completed recently?

Well, I think the biggest task that I accomplished in anatomy this week was studying and taking the chapter one exam. I have to say, it wasn't easy. I made a lot, and I mean a lot (like 60) flashcards for this test. I gotta say the flashcards and re-watching the flip notes made me much more prepared for the test. That test was a truly daunting task, but I think I completed it to the best of my abilities and I feel confident. Which may be either good or bad. Ms. Gardner is probably despicably laughing right now because she knows, that I will never again, be confident about her tests. Oh well.

2. What have you learned recently?

I learned mostly about the regions of the body, directional anatomical terms, and homeostasis. Those three topics were our main points of study in class this week and the previous week. I think I learned a lot. I would've never in a zillion years thought that I could memorize 40 regions of the body that quickly. But I did, so, yay.

3.  What are you planning on doing next?

I plan to make my flashcards in sections rather than all at once. I think it would be easier if I make the flashcards right after I take flip notes or complete a project/assignment that had some info that would be on the test. I am also gonna do my weekly questions from now on. (the whole class forgot to do them last Friday) Also I plan to have an amazing Friday and ace my playing test in jazz band, ace my written test in symphonic band, get a good grade on my MLKJ essay for English, make it into symphony orchestra by doing well in my audition after school, then kick butt at tennis practice, then to finish it off have a fun time in pep band at the basketball game. Busy day tomorrow. Wish me luck!!!!!

I am a Digital Native.

       The term Digital Native was founded by Marc Prensky in 2001. This term was used to describe those born into a new culture in the digital age.  These people such as myself grew up with technology becoming a part of a daily life. You can read more about digital natives by clicking the link. Another thing Marc Prensky argues, is that there are also Digital Immigrants. Digital Immigrants are people were born before the widespread digital technology. Although that doesn't mean that these people don't know how to use technology, rather they were introduced at a later age and had to learn to use it. Marc Prensky's original article can be found here. 

       After researching and taking a quiz or two, I have come to the conclusion that I am, in fact, a digital native. Shocker right? (that was sarcastic.) You might find from personal experience that most technology natives are under the age of 25. Being born in 1999, that puts me at 14 years old. So I know that I am in the range for being a digital native. The next thing I thought about is, "Can I remember a time when the internet wasn't in large scale use?" The answer to that was no. As far back as I can remember, the internet was already being largely used. We already had internet in our schools and were integrating digital technology into our education system.  For these reasons I believe that I am a digital native. I grew up with digital technology and it has been very easily accessible to me. I find technology easy to use because I was introduced to it so early on in my life. You might even be able to compare it to learning a language. It's easier to learn when you're younger. 

Here is an infographic I made to show the contrasts between 

Digital Natives and Immigrants. I used Picktochart.com to create 

this infographic.

       Are you not sure which you might be. A digital native? Or a digital immigrant? Take the quiz!

       Whether you are a digital native or a digital immigrant I won't judge you. This has repeatedly happened throughout history.  Maybe someday a new technology will come out when I am much older and I will be an immigrant. Who knows. But for know the natives are one step ahead of the immigrants in digital technology but more and more is being learned each day by each of the two parties. Who knows you may not forever remain either a native or an immigrant to digital technology. Only time will tell.