Diagramming the Diaphragm

Today students played the role of bioengineers and were faced with the task of designing and building a model of an artificial lung. After learning about the structures and function of the respiratory system, students selected appropriate building materials and assembled a working model of a human lung. In science, building models is a great way to truly understand how a complex system really works.

The average person takes over 23,000 breaths a day but did you ever stop to really think about how we breathe? Take a deep breath and have your student explain what is happening as the air enters your nose. Make sure they don’t forget to tell you about the diaphragm, the muscle that is responsible for each breath that we take!

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Author

Dr. Maureen Griffin

Maureen earned a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003. While at Penn, she developed a novel micro-mechanical technique called micropipette peeling to investigate the role of muscle cell adhesion in normal and diseased skeletal muscle cells. After graduating, Maureen worked full time as a post-doctoral researcher and then a staff scientist a SelectX Pharmaceuticals. She joined the teaching staff in 2008 and was excited to be made an executive staff member in 2009. Maureen also continued to consult part time for SelectX until her daughter's birth in 2009; now she is focused on Science from Scientists and, of course, her children. Maureen uses her spare time to read, blog, cook, and renovate her house.

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