The Huffines Discussion 4 (2014) is right around the corner on November 21, 2014.  Come join us from 1-4 pm (CST) at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center on the campus of Texas A&M and hear nine leaders in sports medicine and human performance.  We've got a great line-up of speakers and we're excited to bring you the fourth edition of this great event.Click here for Speaker listing and other details (including satellite site locations!). 

For more information about this week’s Human Performance Minute, check out the links listed below.  http://mmqb.si.com/2014/07/30/stem-cell-treatment-nfl-sports-medicine/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-r-stone-md/stem-cells-can-help-rebui_b_5677160.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living http://car.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/05/18/1947603514534681.abstract http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961204009573Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Perf...

Yang Lee, M.S.Oxidative damage, which is the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells, affects the aging process, and old age is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. This phenomenon is well explained by “The Oxidative Stress Theory of Aging”, which explains that the life span of an organism is determined by the age-related loss of physiological function by the progressive cumulating of oxidative damage. This theory has been modified to “The Mitochondri...

 Jeffrey Hord, B.S.Skeletal muscles come in a variety of sizes and shapes so that they suit the particular function that they perform. Some of these muscles work virtually all of the time while others are necessary only part of the time. Locomotor muscles that help us physically move our bodies are not as essential as our hearts or other vital organs but they are crucial for us to go about our everyday activities. Our skeletal muscles have matured and essentially been trained to function in...

Will Deaver,  M.S.The DEP domain containing mTOR-interacting protein, or DEPTOR, is a relatively new protein that our lab has focused on for its potential roles in muscle physiology. DEPTOR is a negative regulator of mTOR, a keystone protein responsible for muscle protein synthesis and cell growth. Essentially, mTOR signals for muscle growth. DEPTOR is a negative inhibitor of mTOR, and high levels of DEPTOR prevent mTOR signaling and result in lower muscle masses.Recently, our lab published...

Anita Mantri, B.S.Since the introduction of “the pill,” its use as a form of birth control and contraception has steadily increased in women of child-bearing age as seen in reports from the CDC. When the pill first came out in the 1970s, its use was very limited out of caution about the unknown effects of adding extra hormones to the body. Usually, the hormones estrogen and progesterone have distinct cycling patterns that prepare a woman’s body for pregnancy and lead to her per...

John Seawright, B.S.For men, the probability of developing cancer at some point in life is equivalent to flipping a coin; 1 in 2; for women, it’s slightly better at 1 in 3. Take a coin out of your drawer and think of your father. Now, flip the coin. Let’s do it again. This time, think of your brother, your son, or yourself. At some juncture in your life, the phrase “I’m going to refer you to Oncology,” is likely to cross your road. Robert Frost had something to say ...

Jiling Liu, M. EdEffective teaching (ET) in physical education (PE) happens when students have positive changes in thinking, behavior, and emotion. These changes can result in more positive attitudes toward learning motor skills, more active participation in PE classes, and/or improvement in PE grades. Research shows that what teachers understand affects how they teach. In order to teach effectively, teachers should fully understand what ET means and what constitutes ET. For this reason, physica...

Yang Lee, M.S.Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most prevalent and severe type of muscular dystrophy, affecting 1 in every 3500 newborn boys, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute. DMD causes progressive muscle weakness, cardiomyopathy, and respiratory failure. Patients are diagnosed when they are toddlers, become wheelchair-dependent in their early teens, and die usually before in their 30s. It has been more than 20 years since scientists identified the protein encode...

Jami Lobpries, Ph.DTwo months removed from the 2012 Olympic Games, the majority of the fame, spotlight, and national attention for the female Olympic athletes subsided. In fact, the majority of these women often do not have viable professional leagues to return to post-Olympics. Gender disparities continue to exist in the sports world, particularly in media exposure and financial dollars for endorsements or sponsorships. Professional female athletes are a brand, as are their male counterparts, b...