Meeting Abstract
The challenge of maintaining human life in a non-earth environment illuminates the fundamental physiological problem of homeostasis. The astronaut depicted in “The Martian,” first a novel by Andy Weir and then a blockbuster movie directed by Ridley Scott, is stranded alone on Mars and must rely NASA’s technology and his own ingenuity to stay alive. Using scenarios outlined in the novel, students are asked to consider the metabolic demands of the human body for oxygen, water, and energy, as well as the physiological requirements associated with maintaining a constant body temperature. Within this context, we ask and answer the following questions: (1) why do humans inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide and in what biochemical pathways do these gases serve as reactants/products? (2) how are blood gases regulated and what the the consequences of disequilibrium conditions? (3) what determines a human’s energy requirements and what types of foods contain the most calories? and (4) why do human bodies only function at certain temperatures and how is body temperature regulated? By combining readings from the novel and YouTube clips from the movie with secondary and primary literature sources (including NASA publications), students are asked to “think outside of the box” and contemplate the problems that arise when sea-level earth constants (atmospheric pressure, percent oxygen composition, etc.) are no longer in effect. Students in the class learn to quantify and solve physiological problems, integrate core concepts across organ systems, and gain a working knowledge of the primary feedback mechanisms that maintain a constant internal environment — with an overarching goal of improving students’ understanding of how humans survive on earth and, with the assistance of technology, in much more hostile environments.
