Scabs Nina and the Neurons: Brilliant Bodies

# If you've got a question and you don't know where to go

# Ask Nina for some help Cos she's got a science show

# She makes sense of her senses While helping all her fans

# By doing her experiments with potions and with bangs

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue!

-# Fingers

-Fingers!

-# Eyes.

-Eyes!

-Ears.

-Ears!

-Nose.

-Nose!

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Luke, he helps us with our eyes and Felix with our touch

# Ollie sniffs out smells And Belle, she hears so much

# Bud is Ollie's brother He helps us with our taste

# They're Nina's little Neurons And they're coming to your place!

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue!

-# Fingers

-Fingers!

-# Eyes.

-Eyes!

-Ears.

-Ears!

-Nose.

-Nose!

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Oh yeah! #

Hello, there! I'm putting a plaster on my finger.

I cut it doing an experiment earlier and it was bleeding a little bit.

I should have been more careful. Silly me. There! That's better.

BEEPING

Oh! I hear a beep, I see a flash. I wonder what they're going to ask.

ALL: Hi, Nina!

-Hi, guys!

-We've got a question for you.

-What are scabs for?

That's a great question! What are scabs for?

Scabs appear on our skin

if we cut ourselves or graze our elbows or knees.

Come down to my lab and we'll investigate!

ALL: See you soon, Nina! Bye!

Bye!

I'll need some help to answer this one, and I know just who to ask.

OK, Neurons, time to get to work.

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina!

OK, today's question is - what are scabs for?

Which Neuron would be most useful in helping us find the answer?

-ALL: Me, me, me!

-Will it be fabulous Felix...?

I can help so very much, if you need the sense of touch.

-Will it be beautiful Belle?

-I send messages to brain from ear.

-If there's a sound, I'll help you hear.

-Lovely Luke?

For looking and seeing day or night,

I'll help you with your sense of sight.

Awesome Ollie?

If it's pongy, but you can't tell, my messages help your sense of smell.

Or baby Bud?

Sour, salty, bitter or sweet,

I'm your taste buddy whenever you eat.

BEEPING

It's Luke!

Yes!

ALL: Go, Luke! Go, Luke! Go, Luke!

Go, Luke! Go, Luke! Go, Luke!

Cool, Nina! I'll be looking out to help you!

Today's question is - what are scabs for?

As we see scabs on our skin, Luke,

our sight Neuron, will help us today.

Right, I need to get the lab ready before they arrive.

Ross likes motorbikes. Oscar likes birds of prey.

And Megan loves drama.

But they all want to know what scabs are for,

so today, Ross, Oscar and Megan become...the Experimenters!

-Hi, guys!

-ALL: Hi, Nina!

Welcome to my science lab. Come in.

You asked what are scabs for?

It's a great question, but why do you want to know?

-We're told not to pick them.

-What are scabs for, Nina?

Our brilliant bodies create scabs for lots of good reasons.

We need to experiment to find out more.

-NINA LAUGHS

-And let's start by using our senses.

ALL: Woo-hoo! A senses experiment. We're ready, Nina!

When we cut ourselves or fall and graze our knees,

something called a scab forms over the cut.

Scabs are a reddy, browny, purply colour,

and they usually feel dry and rough on our skin.

But they do an important job for our bodies.

-Let's get experimenting!

-Yes!

-OK, pick up your watering cans

and when I say go, pour some water into your buckets. Ready?

Yes!

OK, one, two, three...go!

OK, and stop pouring. Lift them up and tell me what you can see.

-Water.

-What's happening to the water?

-It's coming out from a hole.

You're right. There's a hole in all the buckets.

That's why the water leaked out.

It's like what happens to our skin when we cut or graze ourselves.

The cut makes holes in our skin and blood leaks out.

Because our bodies are brilliant,

the skin starts making itself better by forming a scab over the hurt bit.

This next experiment will help explain.

This is special putty, so roll it around in your hands.

-It's all gooey!

-And sticky!

Use the putty to cover the holes in the bottom of your buckets.

The Experimenters are doing a good job with that squidgy putty.

Well done, Experimenters! Let's test the buckets again.

Pour in some more water.

That's it. That's plenty. OK, stop pouring.

And now, lift up the bucket over the tray and see what happens.

-So, what's happened?

-It doesn't come out.

Yes! The putty sealed the holes in your buckets

and stopped the water escaping.

This is just like what a scab does when we cut or graze ourselves.

Our bodies form a scab to cover the holes in our skin

to stop the blood from leaking out,

because losing a lot of blood is bad for us.

But the scab forms for other important reasons too.

To find out more, let's visit somewhere very sporty.

-Let's go, Experimenters!

-ALL: Yes!

Oh, goody! I love this bit. I wonder where Nina is taking us?

Nina said it's somewhere fun and sporty.

Maybe it's a splishy, splashy swimming pool.

Or a fun gymnasium, with trampolines and roly-poly mats!

-I think I can smell grass.

-We're here, and it does look very grassy!

This is one of my most favourite experiments ever,

because we get to play football. Ready, guys?

ALL: Yes!

Ooh, I think they're about to score!

Goal! ALL: Yes!

-Oh, dear! My foot has accidentally damaged the grass.

-Wow!

It looks like the grass has been scratched and cut open.

Yes, it'll need some time to grow back and get strong again.

Don't worry. There is something we can do to help the grass grow back.

-Hi, David!

-Hi, Nina.

-It's David's job to look after the grass here.

-Show us what you do to help the grass grow back.

-Of course.

This special material is used on football pitches

and sports grounds

to help protect the damaged grass until it grows back.

A bit like this plaster protects the little cut on my finger.

When we get a scab, its job to protect the cut or graze

until it gets better.

So scabs are like the body making its very own plasters.

That's right, Felix.

Let's see if we can find more damaged grass. Let's go!

-Bye, David!

-Bye.

Oh, look!

This material has been here for a few weeks.

Let's see if it's done its job.

-It's grown back!

-There's no damaged bits.

The material's done a great job of protecting the grass,

so it can grow back. Scabs protect our skin, allowing it to grow back.

It's important not to pick scabs,

because the skin won't have had time to grow back properly.

When the skin is strong enough, it'll fall off all by itself.

There's something else that's brilliant about scabs,

-so let's go back to my lab for one final experiment.

-ALL: Yeah!

One reason I've put a plaster on my cut finger

is to stop germs getting in that could cause an infection.

-An infection? That sounds serious.

-It can be.

Infections start when tiny,

invisible bugs called germs get into our bodies and make us feel ill.

Our brilliant bodies create scabs to act like a protective shield

so nasty germs can't get through.

It's so important not to pick scabs. If we pick them,

the cut might become infected.

Let's pretend this is a red cut on the skin.

And pretend each of these green balls is a nasty germ.

It's your job to throw the balls

and get as many germs into the cut as possible.

-Everybody ready?

-Yes!

-Go for it.

Oh, there's another germ in the cut. And another one!

So, what happened to the green germ balls?

-Lots of the balls got in the cut.

-Right!

If this was a real cut, that could cause an infection.

They got into the cut because there was nothing to stop them.

What if there was a big scab over the cut?

-The balls won't get in?

-Well, let's see.

This time, our volunteer super-scab, Megan, will help protect the cut

with this big umbrella, which is our pretend scab.

Let's see what happens. Ready to throw? One, two, three...go!

Hooray! It's working! The germs can't get through.

That was great fun! But what happened?

-The umbrella kept the germs out.

-That's right.

If we imagine the umbrella was a scab,

it was like a shield, stopping germs getting into the cut,

where they could cause infection.

# Nina and the Neurons! #

So your question was -

what are scabs for? I think we've answered it.

Scabs do lots of very important jobs for our brilliant bodies.

They stop blood escaping from a cut,

they help our skin grow back, and they stop germs getting in.

Scabs are like our body's natural plaster and will fall off

by themselves when they're finished doing their important jobs.

-So I hope that's answered your question.

-ALL: Thanks, Nina! Bye!

You're welcome! Bye!

Want to find out more about the science all around us?

Go to the Nina section on the CBeebies website. Have fun!

-Hearts beating.

-Lungs breathing.

-Fingers feeling.

-Mouths eating.

And don't forget your brain.

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# Inside and ou-ou-out

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# Come on, let's find out about

# Our happy hands and bendy knees

# Stretchy backs And noses that sneeze

-# We all have brilliant bodies

-Brilliant bodies!

# Every part has a job to do

# Even scabs and ear wax too

-# We all have brilliant bodies

-Brilliant bodies

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# Lashes to protect our eyes

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# And don't forget to exercise. #

It's been such a great day, man!

Watching the Experimenters sealing up the holes in their buckets.

I really enjoyed myself today.

The Experimenters helped protect the grass so it can grow back again.

I've had a fabby day! The umbrella scab kept those nasty germs out.

Scabs are amazing!

Remember, everyone's body is different,

but they're all brilliant!

See you again soon. Bye!

ALL: Bye!