France 5 reveals the internal communication systems of our body

At 8:50 p.m., France 5 broadcasts Our body, this social network, a documentary that makes us discover exceptional images, some of which were toured for the first time.

Embark on a journey to discover the astonishing cartography of our body, this unsuspected galaxy! Co-produced with the Japanese NHK and signed Pierre-François Gaudry, the documentary, Our body, this social network, demonstrates that our organs maintain constant communication, twenty-four hours a day, with each other. Bones talk to the brain, muscles talk to the immune system, the kidneys oversee our blood balance. Today, technological advances allow us to see in images the messages, “text messages” or “tweets” that different parts of the body send to each other.

EPO-producing kidneys

One of the communication systems is, of course, the blood network, one of the most extensive in our body. Put end to end, the blood vessels would circle the Earth two and a half times! But our kidneys are also a very important communication service. This organ is generally associated with the simple treatment of waste and its evacuation via the urine. Wrong, because the kidneys are much more than that! In particular, they produce a natural hormone, EPO (erythropoietin), which stimulates the production of red blood cells and therefore promotes cellular respiration. The film followed a Japanese Olympic swimming team who use this message, EPO, sent through our kidneys, to train hard. These athletes indeed harness the power of the kidney to improve their performance during training camps in Arizona, at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters. Because the body has less oxygen under these conditions, the kidneys “tweet” the EPO message, which stimulates the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells in order to boost the body’s performance.

Muscles for better immune defense

Our body, this social network, also tells how our muscles, which we associate, once again, with a simple mass of muscle fibers, “talk” to our precious immune system. Thus, when we play sports, our white blood cells are more reactive in the event of a virus attack. Our muscles play the role of “thermostat” of our immune defenses, boosted or moderate depending on the messages they send. Unfortunately, man has become too sedentary (escalator, electric scooter, car, metro, etc.). But we are made to run and walk: it is therefore essential, to maintain a good immune system, to move and build muscles.

“Our body, this social network” at 8:50 pm on France 5

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