The science behind touch
This is the fifth and final blog in a new series discussing the 5 senses. This blog will focus on touch. Mechanoception is our sense of pressure. It allows organisms to detect and respond to touch, sound, and changes in pressure in their environment. Mechanical stress, changes in pressure, sound waves, and gravity can stimulate […]
The science behind smell
This is the fourth blog in a new series discussing the 5 senses. This blog will focus on smell. Olfaction is our sense of smell. It is a complex sense involving specialized receptors found in the nose and brain. The olfactory epithelium, which contains olfactory sensory cells, is located in the nostril. Separating it from […]
The science behind vision
This is the third blog in a new series discussing the 5 senses. This blog will focus on vision. Vision is our sense of sight. It is a complex process that involves numerous parts of the eye and brain working together to process information from the external environment. Vision begins with light hitting a thick, […]
The science behind taste
This is the second blog in a new series discussing the 5 senses. This blog will focus on taste, also known as gustation. There are 5 main tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (the ability to taste glutamate). Each one depends on a specific receptor located on the tongue. The gustatory system consists of […]
The science behind hearing
This is the first blog in a new series discussing the 5 senses. This blog will focus on hearing. Audition is our sense of sound, which often gradually declines with age. Presbycusis results from changes in the inner ear’s ability to transmit sound to the brain. Sound requires a pressurized sound wave and hair cells. […]
The science of sleep
Sleep is a state of unconsciousness when you’re not aware of yourself or the world around you. It can reduce stress, improve mood, and lower your risk for a variety of health problems. A lack of quality sleep can negatively impact information processing, emotion regulation, and memory. Four stages of sleep occur in 90-minute cycles. […]
Age-related diseases: cirrhosis
This blog is the tenth part of a new series that builds upon a previous blog that discussed common chronic diseases for seniors. The tenth and final blog will focus on cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a progressive condition that involves permanent scarring of the liver. Many liver diseases and conditions such as chronic alcoholism and hepatitis […]
Age-related diseases: urinary incontinence
This blog is the ninth part of a new series that builds upon a previous blog that discussed common chronic diseases for seniors. The ninth blog will focus on urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence is a common condition that causes people the unintentionally pass urine. It is also known as the loss of bladder control. There […]
Age-related diseases: inflammatory bowel disease
This blog is the eighth part of a new series that builds upon a previous blog that discussed common chronic diseases for seniors. The eighth blog will focus on inflammatory bowel disease. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term that refers to two conditions: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract […]
Age-related diseases: osteoarthritis
This blog is the seventh part of a new series that builds upon a previous blog that discussed common chronic diseases for seniors. The seventh blog will focus on osteoarthritis. As the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis affects millions of people worldwide. It is a degenerative joint condition that causes swelling, stiffness, and pain. […]
