Human Body

Made in His Image: Baby's First Breath

In 1967 Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first heart transplant. Until that time, if someone's heart was taken out, they died. People were astounded to learn that not only was a man’s heart removed, but a non-beating donor heart put in, restarted, and he lived. More...

Made in His Image: Balancing Body Temperature

A major achievement for design engineers is building precise control mechanisms for active processes. Lives depend on the precision in which certain processes are maintained, such as the manufacture of drugs. More...

Made in His Image: Bone, An Engineering Marvel

A key design feature shared by many 100-year-old barns and some modern skyscrapers is that the external shell carries the building's load with a minimal use of internal columns for support. Internal floors and walls, if any, function in a structural way to stiffen the building. This resourceful design allows for a very strong structure with a maximum of interior space available for other purposes. More...

Made in His Image: Breath of Life

In American football, the quarterback can hand off the football to a team member, who then may do a handoff to another player. Exciting plays may be put together that combine several handoffs and even a pass downfield to an awaiting player who, hopefully, carries the ball to the goal. More...

Made in His Image: From Solar Energy to Human Energy

Plants use biological systems that harvest light energy from the sun to convert environmental water and carbon dioxide into tiny carbon/hydrogen energy units stored within them. When people eat those energy units, the extraordinary human digestive and metabolic systems convert the work of plants into energy that is useful to people and give back water and carbon dioxide to the environment that can be used by plants. More...

Made in His Image: Human Gestation

Admittedly the prospect of pregnancy only applies to half of humanity, but the other half should find the process equally astounding. The real star of the show, however, is the developing baby, who was once viewed as a passive object being built by the mother's body. Nothing could be further from the truth. More...

Made in His Image: Human Reproduction

A new life is started the moment a human sperm cell unites with a human egg. Sounds simple, doesn't it? A person can decide for himself, but he will need to follow along very closely to catch all of the details and carefully piece them together, just as he would follow a skillful mystery. More...

Made in His Image: Immune Systems, The Body's Security Force

Good neighborhoods provide families a lot of protection, but even the best of communities remain vulnerable to the threat of criminals invading their homes. Our human bodies are also vulnerable to foreign invaders such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. More...

Made in His Image: Life-Giving Blood

After 100 years, automobiles still need engine oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, antifreeze, power-steering fluid, and so on. Wouldn't it be great if just a single multipurpose fluid could be circulated from a central reservoir? Each part would use only the needed properties of the fluid, exclude detrimental properties, and then send it back. More...

Made in His Image: Melanin, the Sunblock That's Just Skin Deep

Most people north of the equator have an observable suntan by August. Ironically, a desire to be outside is often coupled with another strong desire to get out of the sun, as indicated by sales of sun umbrellas and other types of sunshades. More...

Made in His Image: The Connecting Power of Hands

A boom in affordable housing in the 1950s was helped by the invention of a distinctive multifunctional piece of equipment: the backhoe. Its strong yet relatively slender articulated arm allowed precise yet rapid placement for digging or lifting. The manipulative device is trim and fast, since hoses transfer power to it from a powerful hydraulic pump within the main chassis. More...