Cells at Work! is a manga series written and illustrated by Akane Shimizu which talks about the daily life of cells, represented by human beings, in the human body. The manga chapters talk about a variety of human functions such as blood circulation and cover a broad spectrum of infectious and non-infectious diseases such as Pneumococcus and cancer. David Production produced an anime series on Cells at Work! which first aired from July to September 2018. The anime series has been positively received and has received credit from the teaching and academic communities for its accurate portrayal of the human body in a format that is engaging to young people and young adults. Consequently, from January to March 2021, two new anime series are being aired: the second season of Cells at Work!! produced by David Production and the spin-off Cells at Work! Code Black produced by Liden Films. As well as that, the sixth and final volume of the Cells at Work! manga will be released in Japan on February 9th 2021 with the final chapter focusing on the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

As an Immunology PhD graduate who is passionate about how the human body works in health and disease, I have become fascinated by the manga and anime series. In fact, I completed a blog series where I talked about the science behind each episode of the first season of Cells at Work!. In this series, I provided more information on what happens to the human body in real life and how it compares to the anime.

With the second season of Cells at Work!! currently airing, I will also be starting my new series “The Science behind “Cells at Work!!”! Similar to the first series, I will be talking about the science behind the body process and/or disease shown in each episode to provide context on what is happening. In addition, I will be talking about recent scientific findings behind trending topics in medical research such as the gut microbiota. These blog posts aim to fill in some of the gaps that the anime episode either overlooks or simplifies to provide a fuller picture on how the cells and human body work in real life, both during normal human activity as well as disease.

I have already written a blog post providing an introduction behind the gut microbiota, the collection of commensal bacteria living in your gut. This introductory blog post will give you an excellent introduction on the interesting link between the gut microbiota and human health which has become a focal point in medical research. Have a read through this blog post before the episodes on lactic acid bacteria are aired. In the meantime, look forward to the first blog post of the series where I talk about how platelets develop in the body. See you there!

In this episode, Normal Cell gets bored being in charge of cell proliferation and is annoyed by Killer T Cell’s shouting. Just as he lies on his bed, he investigates a strange noise, finding Virus-Infected Cell hiding from Killer T Cell. After laughing from Killer T Cell getting punched by a glove-in-the-box, Normal Cell accompanies Virus-Infected Cell to pull pranks on other cells. Taking Virus-Infected Cell to his room, he realises that Virus-Infected Cell wants to infect him and gasps in horror as the local area is filled with viruses. Suddenly, Killer T Cell and the other immune cells arrive to beat up the virus-infected cells. Killer T Cell then berates Normal Cell for troubling the other cells and advises him to study more on viruses and cells.

This episode describes a well-known viral infection called the common cold. What is the common cold and how does it infect people in real life? Join us as we delve more into this common viral infection.

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Consider the following scenario:

A 14-year-old boy is rushed to hospital after falling off a bike without a helmet, suffering a head injury as his head hits the road. His head is bleeding profusely upon admission despite direct pressure being applied to stop it. Blood pressure is low (90/50 mmHg) and he has a high heart rate (120bpm). His breathing is also rapid and shallow (35 breaths/min) and his body is cold (35.5°C). What should doctors do next?

Relating to the events of episodes 12 and 13, the cells are devastated by the head injury. This creates a gaping hole that sucks cells out of the body. While Neutrophil and the other white blood cells are recruited to fend off pathogens entering the body, Red Blood Cell and the others do their best to deliver oxygen to cells despite the increasingly difficult circumstances. Just as all hope is lost and Red Blood Cell collapses in a blizzard, she is saved by transfused red blood cells that deliver oxygen around the body. This gives the body time to slowly repair itself as life gradually returns to normal.

In this blog post, I will explain how the body is suffering from and responds to haemorrhagic shock, what happens if it is not promptly tended to and how the boy should be treated.

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Consider this scenario:

You are competing in the Comrades Marathon, the largest and oldest ultramarathon in the world that is held in South Africa. It involves running 90km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, running up and down five hills along the way. You start running at 5:30AM and you have 12 hours to finish the course.

Even though the weather is cool with a top of 16°C (60.8°F), you still feel sweaty as you run the course. What would you need to consider when you are running in the Comrades Marathon?

Strenuous activity such as running produces sweat that cools the body down. However, when sweating stops functioning, the person suffers from heat stress where the body continues to heat up. This leads to symptoms such as dizziness, obscured vision and fainting as the body struggles to function normally. Over two separate episodes, heat stress was resolved in two different ways. In episode 11, the cells are saved by an injection of intravenous fluid into the body. However, in a special episode aired exclusively in Japan, the cells are saved by Pocari Sweat, a Japanese sports drink.

How does taking in such fluids treat heat stress? In this blog post, we will look at how the body normally scavenges fluids and salts from urine to keep sweating and how taking in fluids helps or hinders this process.

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