Muscle Man

The science of biophysics – applying the laws of physics to study biological systems – has steadily risen to the forefront in biomedical research. Its foundations lie in work carried out by 19th-century physiologists. One significant contributor was Archibald Hill – born on this day in 1886 – starting with his research into heat production in muscle. As muscles twitched he could measure temperature changes as small as 0.00015°C. He went on, with Otto Meyerhof, to unravel the distinction between aerobic and anaerobic respiration, for which they received the Nobel Prize in 1922. During intense bursts of exercise, muscle cells can’t wait for oxygen to facilitate the necessary energy release. Instead, anaerobic respiration liberates energy without oxygen. After a burst of anaerobic exercise we pant heavily, so repaying the oxygen debt – a term coined by Hill – restoring our tissues to their resting state.

Written by Lindsey Goff

Lindsey Goff

Editor-in-Chief

Formerly immunologist for Cancer Research UK, Lindsey has since moved into the field of scientific publishing. She looks after all BPoD editorial matters.

• Image courtesy of the Wellcome Image Library
• Originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Hill's work reviewed by David R. Bassett Jr. in Journal of Applied Physiology