Monday, March 28, 2011
Science Mondays--- Homeostasis and what we can learn from fish
a few hours ago, under the quilt of healing, I began to think more about immune systems and such. Our bodies fight so hard to keep things the way it wants it to be... temperature, chemistry, pressures, acidity, solutes, .... Homeostasis.
But when we get sick, the immune system over rides the system. In its attempt to clear our body of what it senses as an attacker it makes us feel bad. Seems strange, but lots of the discomforts that come with a cold or flu are caused by us not them. Not that I would want to go without the immune system.
But I started thinking about fish as I waited for the call for dinner. One of my favorite classes at East Stroudsburg University was Ecological Physiology (or how to maintain homeostasis in nature).
And to this day I love to share these facts with my students: Salt water fish drink a lot but rarely urinate. Fresh water fish rarely drink and urinate frequently. It is all about balance. Craving what you truly need. Holding onto what you require. Letting go of the excesses.
Learn from the fish, is what I say.
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Biology is definitely growing on me. With my 8th-grade students, I just finished Evolution & Extinction and am now moving into Ecology.
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ReplyDelete"Craving what you truly need. Holding onto what you require. Letting go of the excesses." Exactly what we all should do.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying, I'm trying!
ReplyDeleteI learned something new about fish today. Not that the information will get me anywhere, but it was quite interesting!
ReplyDeleteKathryn--- I posted on Chemistry today.
ReplyDeleteBarbara--- I know, it is kind of hard to see the truth though.
Di--- as am I
Snowcatcher--- feel free to share it with a bicyclist this summer who hangs out to hear the jazz coming from you bike.