• Question: How far has your work brought you into a understanding of human limits? Do you keep data on your experiments stored safely on a hard-drive or in a folder? Will your work eventually help us greatly into the knowledge of ourselves?

    Asked by theqprotocol to Alan, Damian, Emma, Liam, Luca on 17 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Damian Bailey

      Damian Bailey answered on 17 Jun 2013:

      My work has brought me a long way to understanding how the human brain has evolved to be so dependant on oxygen, what I call the miracle molecule! Withouth oxygen we’re dust within 30 seconds, whereas muscle can last way longer, hours in fact! Every day, our experiments in my lab help us understand how fragile the human brain is, and also how adaptable it can be especially when we go on altitude expeditions and work with some real oxygen guzzlers, the Olympic athletes! However, I must say that we scientists can get it wrong sometimes, that’s for sure! For example, scientists didn’t think people could climb Everest without oxygen, and they did (in 1978). Scientists said we couldn’t dive on one breath to more than 100 m; and guess what, we did (in 1976) and have even broken through the 200 m mark; wow! And you’ve seen Felix Baumgartner’s amazing basejump (skydive) from the edge of space haven’t you…? If not, then check it out (click on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHtvDA0W34I). Impossible, well scientists thought so but again, he proved us wrong!
      We collect tons and tons of data so it’s kept on special computers that are backed up with hard drives and hard copies of information in folders. By law, we have to do this and the process is very tightly regulated (it’s something that is part of what we call Research Governance). We give research volunteers special codes and not names so that everything we collect is kept confidential.
      I like to think that my work is helping us understand how the human brain works and why oxygen is so important. I get I’m the wrong person to ask; we should really be asking the public! There the ones who can give us a really honest answer! Check out my University webpage (http://staff.glam.ac.uk/users/2240-dbailey1) and see what you think! But making a difference (see one of my last answers) is what makes me tick and helps me get up in the morning feeling chipepr and ready to rumble!

    • Photo: Liam Bagley

      Liam Bagley answered on 17 Jun 2013:

      I’m much more new to science than Damian is, he has a lot of experience in Physiology and Science! However, my own knowledge has increased massively in the short time I’ve been working as an exercise physiologist. I know how important human muscles are, they aren’t just for moving us around, they’re for everything! What happens in your muscles directly affects what happens in the rest of your body. I’ve seen people who do not move around and move their muscles and therefore get diseases like diabetes or heart disease, these massively increase our risk of leading a more unhappy life and possibly dying earlier! So by simply moving around we prolong our life and make us happier!
      I have data coming out of my ears in my office! I have hard drives, paper folders, stuff stored online, on the networks here at University, EVERYWHERE.
      I hope my work will show how important movement and exercise is. Its not just about making us fitter or able to run faster, its about stopping diseases. By training your muscles, you’re able to burn fat and carbohydrates and by using them you adapt them so the fat can’t release hormones and chemicals that lead to disease like diabetes.
      Hope this helps!
      Liam

Comments