full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Christian Moro: The surprising reason our muscles get tired
Unscramble the Blue Letters
In response to a sniagl from the brain, the mootr neuron releases acetylcholine, which triggers peors on the muscle cell membrane to open. Sodium flows in, and potassium flows out. The flux of these charged particles is a ciaucrl step for muscle contraction: the change in charge creates an electrical signal called an action potential that spreads through the muscle cell, stimulating the release of ciluacm that’s stored inside it. This flood of calcium causes the muscle to catrocnt by enabling proteins buried in the muscle fibers to lock together and rhtaect towards each other, pulling the muscle tight. The energy used to pwoer the cotciontran comes from a mleoclue called ATP. ATP also helps pump the ions back across the membrane afterward, resetting the balance of sodium and potassium on either side.
Open Cloze
In response to a ______ from the brain, the _____ neuron releases acetylcholine, which triggers _____ on the muscle cell membrane to open. Sodium flows in, and potassium flows out. The flux of these charged particles is a _______ step for muscle contraction: the change in charge creates an electrical signal called an action potential that spreads through the muscle cell, stimulating the release of _______ that’s stored inside it. This flood of calcium causes the muscle to ________ by enabling proteins buried in the muscle fibers to lock together and _______ towards each other, pulling the muscle tight. The energy used to _____ the ___________ comes from a ________ called ATP. ATP also helps pump the ions back across the membrane afterward, resetting the balance of sodium and potassium on either side.
Solution
- contraction
- signal
- pores
- ratchet
- crucial
- calcium
- molecule
- motor
- power
- contract
Original Text
In response to a signal from the brain, the motor neuron releases acetylcholine, which triggers pores on the muscle cell membrane to open. Sodium flows in, and potassium flows out. The flux of these charged particles is a crucial step for muscle contraction: the change in charge creates an electrical signal called an action potential that spreads through the muscle cell, stimulating the release of calcium that’s stored inside it. This flood of calcium causes the muscle to contract by enabling proteins buried in the muscle fibers to lock together and ratchet towards each other, pulling the muscle tight. The energy used to power the contraction comes from a molecule called ATP. ATP also helps pump the ions back across the membrane afterward, resetting the balance of sodium and potassium on either side.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
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collocation |
frequency |
muscle cell |
4 |
muscle fatigue |
3 |
motor neuron |
3 |
lactic acid |
2 |
muscle contracts |
2 |
cell membrane |
2 |
action potential |
2 |
waste products |
2 |
fatigued muscles |
2 |
ngrams of length 3
collocation |
frequency |
muscle cell membrane |
2 |
Important Words
- acetylcholine
- action
- afterward
- atp
- balance
- brain
- buried
- calcium
- called
- cell
- change
- charge
- charged
- contract
- contraction
- creates
- crucial
- electrical
- enabling
- energy
- fibers
- flood
- flows
- flux
- helps
- ions
- lock
- membrane
- molecule
- motor
- muscle
- neuron
- open
- particles
- pores
- potassium
- potential
- power
- proteins
- pulling
- pump
- ratchet
- release
- releases
- resetting
- response
- side
- signal
- sodium
- spreads
- step
- stimulating
- stored
- tight
- triggers