Distance runner Paula Radcliffe has won dozens of long-distance races and held the women's world record for the marathon since 2003. Scientists, trainers, and athletes alike have wondered about the extent to which muscle structure and function contribute to success in athletes such as Radcliffe. What makes elite distance runners so good? Are their muscles somehow different from those of less successful athletes and non-athletes?Predict the effect of training for a marathon on the number of muscle cells in the gastrocnemius. Explain.

Distance runner Paula Radcliffe has won dozens of long-distance races and held the women's world record for the marathon since 2003. Scientists, trainers, and athletes alike have wondered about the extent to which muscle structure and function contribute to success in athletes such as Radcliffe. What makes elite distance runners so good? Are their muscles somehow different from those of less successful athletes and non-athletes?Compare and contrast the structure and function of the three types of skeletal muscle fibers.

An owl swoops down, seizes a mouse in its talons, and flies back to its perch. Explain how its wings enable it to overcome the downward pull of gravity as it flies upward.

Distance runner Paula Radcliffe has won dozens of long-distance races and held the women's world record for the marathon since 2003. Scientists, trainers, and athletes alike have wondered about the extent to which muscle structure and function contribute to success in athletes such as Radcliffe. What makes elite distance runners so good? Are their muscles somehow different from those of less successful athletes and non-athletes?Predict who would likely have a greater proportion of fast glycolytic fibers in their gastrocnemius (calf) muscle—an elite distance runner or an elite sprinter. Explain.

The greatest concentration of thoroughbred horse farms is in the bluegrass region of Kentucky. The grass in the limestone-based soil of this area is especially rich in calcium. How does this grass affect the development of championship horses?

Describe how you bend your arm, starting with action potentials and ending with the contraction of a muscle. How does a strong contraction differ from a weak one?

Distance runner Paula Radcliffe has won dozens of long-distance races and held the women's world record for the marathon since 2003. Scientists, trainers, and athletes alike have wondered about the extent to which muscle structure and function contribute to success in athletes such as Radcliffe. What makes elite distance runners so good? Are their muscles somehow different from those of less successful athletes and non-athletes?To discover the relationship between muscle-fiber types and performance, researchers obtained tiny biopsies of the gastrocnemius of 14 elite distance runners, 18 trained but non-elite distance runners, and 19 untrained subjects. They categorized the fiber types as slow or fast. (At the time of the study, intermediate fibers had not been identified as a third type.) Some of their data are shown here (* means). What conclusions can you draw from these data?

Using examples, explain this statement: 'Vertebrate skeletons are variations on a theme.'

Distance runner Paula Radcliffe has won dozens of long-distance races and held the women's world record for the marathon since 2003. Scientists, trainers, and athletes alike have wondered about the extent to which muscle structure and function contribute to success in athletes such as Radcliffe. What makes elite distance runners so good? Are their muscles somehow different from those of less successful athletes and non-athletes?The researchers looked more closely at the data within the group of elite runners. Although the mean proportion of slow fibers was 79 percent in this group, individual values ranged from 27percent in one runner to 98 percent in another. How does this finding affect your interpretation of the relationship between athletic performance and muscle-fiber types?