- Steven Nikolidakis - East Elmhurst, NY - United States
Student, The Cooper Union For The Advancement of Science and Art
Does society need more interdisciplinary work? Or more well-
rounded individuals working together? This week in my
Bioelectricity class there was an emphasis on learning about
muscle physiology. One facet of the musculoskeletal system which
I find especially interesting is the notion of having
specialized muscle tissue for certain actions or scenarios in
life. Muscle is composed of individual fibers called myocytes,
each containing protein strands which grab and pull on each
other to induce muscle contractions. Muscle fibers can further
be broken down into two types, namely Slow Twitch (Type 1) and
Fast Twitch (Type 2). The Slow Twitch fibers are extremely
efficient at converting oxygen into usable energy and allowing
athletes to perform tasks for extended periods before they
fatigue, such as running a marathon. The Fast Twitch fibers, on
the other hand, don't use oxygen to create fuel and