6 in 60: Number 26 – Heart

Hello! I’m back after being gone for far too long, so this months theme of 6 in 60s will all be about human organs! Starting off with the heart, lets do this!

Heart and Brain: Credit to The Awkward Yeti

1. Each day, your heart beats about 100,000 times. It pumps about 23,000 litres (5,000 gallons) of blood around your body.
2. The heart has four compartments two smaller upper chambers called the atria and two lower larger chambers called the ventricles. The two sides of the heart are separated by the septum.
3. The basics on how blood travels around your heart: The right side of the heart receives dark, de-oxygenated blood which has circulated around your body.It pumps this to your lungs, where it picks up a fresh supply of oxygen and becomes bright red again.The blood then returns to the left side of the heart, ready to be pumped back out to the rest of your body.
4. Each of the chambers of the heart are separated by valves, this ensures that the blood only flows in one direction.
5. A good belly laugh can send 20% more blood flowing through your entire body. One study found that when people watched a funny movie, their blood flow increased.
6. A heart attack is a serious medical emergency in which the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot. Lack of blood to the heart can seriously damage the heart muscle.

This video goes in to more description on how the heart works, if you’re interested!

The Sources

The first 4 facts come from the british heart foundation. They know an awful lot about the heart and they created the video. Fact 5 comes from the Web MD page with some other interesting  facts about the heart. Fact 6 comes from the nhs information page on heart attacks.

ThatBiologist Everywhere!

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6 in 60: Number 8 – One for Mr Cadbury

Hello! welcome to this weeks 6 in 60! This week is all about my number 1 weakness, my own kryptonite – Chocolate!

1. Your brain produces dopamine (otherwise known as the happy chemical) when you eat or think about chocolate!
2. Dark chocolate has been shown to boost heart healthy antioxidants. Although if you have a glass of milk with your chocolate this reverses the affect.
3. Chocolate is derived from the cocoa plant also known as Theobroma cacoa.
4. The Ivory Coast is the number 1 nation for the production of the cocoa bean plant.
5. Chocolate was used as a currency in the mayan culture in south america.
6. Chocolate contains a powerful stimulant called theobromine. Theobromine posioning can cause heart failure along with kidney damage.

Don’t know about you but I could totally go for a twix right now! Til next week!

The Sources

Number 1 is brought to you by how stuff works! Number 2 is brought from a study presented in 2003 in the new scientist. Number 3 is welll documented but here is the link to the encyclopedia page on the plant. Number 4 comes from worldatlas here. Number 5 and 6 come from an article by the telegraph celebrating world chocolate day.