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Description

Brain is the center of nervous system. It weighs approximately 1.359 kg. Together with the spinal cord, it forms the central nervous system. They are very important in coordinating different parts of the body, so require a lot of protection. The brain is enclosed by the bony skull and three layers of tissues called meninges. The spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column.

Functions

Each part of the brain has a different function. If one part is damaged in any way, the corresponding function will be greatly affected.

The brain consists of three main parts: cerebrum, cerebellum and medulla. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. It consists of two hemispheres separated by a deep grove connected by the corpus callosum. It is also highly folded to increase the surface area for more neurons. Each hemisphere contains four lobes: the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes. The frontal lobe, located at the anterior of the cerebrum, mainly controls thinking, reasoning and some voluntary movements. The parietal lobe, located on the upper posterior of the cerebrum, receives signals from the muscles, skin, joints and some other senses. The temporal lobe, located on the lower sides of the cerebrum, receives mainly sound signals. The occipital lobe, located on the lower posterior of the cerebrum, receives information from the eyes and forms mental images.

The cerebellum is under the posterior of the cerebrum. It controls balance, posture and coordination of muscles. It is also highly folded.

The medulla is the posterior of the brain and connects to the spinal cord. It controls involuntary movements such as heartbeat, breathing, swallowing, coughing and sneezing.

Diseases

Diseases of the brain are usually severe and can affect many parts of the body. Some of the diseases are genetically related, while others are more common among the elderly.

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive disease due to deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine. The lack of dopamine causes shaking, tremors, unstable posture and loss of balance. It affects 1 in 100 people over 60 years old. Medication to increase the levels of dopamine can be given to help ease some symptoms. It is usually diagnosed when two or more of the major symptoms are present.

Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the progressive death of brain cells. It affects some people over 65 years of age. This may cause impaired thinking and memory and the victim will eventually lose the ability to remember things. It is a fatal brain disease and mainly affects old people. Some symptoms are memory loss, continuously misplacing things, having trouble with everyday tasks, difficulty solving problems and confusing times and places. This disease is a common form of dementia. It may be difficult to diagnose because other brain disorders can be similar to this disease.

Other important facts

Your brain is only 3% of your weight but consumes 17% of your energy. The brain also requires lots of blood and lots of energy to work. One-fifth of your body’s blood is reserved for the brain. That is why strokes can greatly affect the brain in many ways, including brain damage.

To keep your brain cells from aging, you should try to use your brain more by solving problems or using software to do problem solving activities. This may slow down brain cells from aging and may reduce the risk of some diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. A healthy diet may also help keep your brain healthy. Avoid head injuries by wearing a helmet when you ride a bike. Head injuries can seriously harm your brain.

Giant Panda

Species name: The scientific name for the giant panda is Ailuropoda melanoleuca.

Classification: The giant panda is in the animalia kingdom, the chordata phylum, the mammalia class, in the carnivora order, in the Ursidae (bear) family.

Diet: It eats a certain type of bamboo and some insects.

Physical properties and adaptations: It has a shoulder height of 65 to 70 cm. Some adaptations it has are black and white fur to camouflage in snow and rock, thick fur to keep warm during winter and a “pseudo” (fake) thumb that helps it pick up objects.

Habitat and location: The giant panda lives in forests of Southwest China, to the east of the Tibetan Plateau, in the Yangtze Basin.

Size of current population: There are only 2500 mature in the wild.

Factors for endangered state: The factors that caused the giant panda to become endangered are deforestation due to civilization, habitat loss and poaching.

What is being done to protect this species: Many panda reserves are being built by the Chinese government to protect the giant panda, covering 2.5 million acres. Over 60% of the panda population is being protected by the reservation areas. Also, trade for its species and products for commercial purposes are banned.

Golden Toad

Species name: The scientific name for the golden toad is Bufo periglenes.

Classification: The golden toad is in the animalia kingdom, in the chordata phylum, in the amphibia class, in the Anura order, in the Bufonidae (Toad) family.

Diet: Scientists are not sure about what they eat, but they most likely to eat small invertebrates.

Physical properties and adaptations: The female is 42 to 56 mm long, and the male is 39 to 48 mm long. They are shiny, small and bright orange toads. On their paws, they have sharp claws to defend themselves.

Habitat and Location: They lived in a small area of high-altitude rainforest, called cloud forest in Costa Rica.

Time of extinction: The golden toad became officially extinct in 1989.

Factors that lead to its extinction: All amphibians are very sensitive to changes in the environment such as pollution. So health of amphibians reflects the health of the ecosystem. A factor that lead to the extinction of the golden toad are sudden climate change to warm, dry climate due to global warming. The conditions became too dry, so the ponds dried up and the tadpoles could not survive. The climate was just right for a type of skin fungus to form. The fungus grew on their skin, and made them vulnerable to disease. Also, the thinning of the ozone layer allowed excessive UV radiation to enter that killed them.