Get A Move On Operation Ouch!

Are you ready for Ouch! Snips?

Snip!

Ouch!

Exactly!

They do everything from pumping

blood around your body to

helping lift your heavy schoolbag.

Meet Tiny from Tottenham.

Yep, we've already met.

Tiny,

put my brother down!

Go on, mate.

Put me down!

You've got a lot of muscle.

Can we have a look at your biceps?

Chris, not you.

How big is that bicep?

24 inches.

24

inches - so that is 61 centimetres.

That's amazing! So Tiny's bicep is

probably bigger than your waist.

Tiny's muscles are big and very,

very strong,

but what are they made of?

Well, your muscles are made up

of fibres formed from millions of

individual cells,

and blood vessels deliver the energy

that your muscles

need in order to move.

It's been an absolute pleasure.

Thank you

so much for coming in today.

Argh!

Chris, never be cheeky to

a man called Tiny!

So, how do our muscles

actually work?

Now, your brain controls

your muscles by sending a small

electrical charge

down a nerve to the muscle.

That tells the muscle to move.

But what happens when we take

control away from the brain

and stimulate the muscle directly

with these electrodes?

I'm attaching electricity-conducting

pads to Chris' arms.

When I press these buttons,

electrical charges are sent

directly to his muscles,

which will make his arms move. See?

That was me!

Now let's see how many

beakers Chris can down

while I try to override his brain

and control his muscles.

Chris is struggling.

You can't... You can't...

You cannot let go!

Just put it down.

So, we know what

makes your muscles move,

but how do your muscles

make your bones move?

Well, it wouldn't happen

without your tendons.

To show you how tendons

move your bones,

I have invented this - a model arm

made of space-age materials!

Xand, this is something

made of cardboard, a bit of string

and some straws.

They use

all of those things in space!

Now, this is the muscle,

this is the bone,

and this piece of string is the

tendon connecting the two of them.

Now, when I take this balloon,

put it in here and inflate it...

Wow!

When Xand inflates the balloon,

it's like my muscle contracting,

and it pulls on the tendon

and moves the bone.

Your tendons have to be strong

so that they can lift

and move your bones

and anything else you're carrying.

The strongest and thickest tendon

in your body is the Achilles tendon.

And it... What have

I told you about shoes in the lab?

I thought everyone would like to see

my Achilles tendon! It's right here.

It connects my calf to my heel.

Do you know, Chris,

your Achilles tendon is meant to be

stronger than steel?

It's just a shame we don't have any

way to test that in the lab.

Well, Xand, I actually have the

perfect experiment for this,

but we do need to head outside.

And you're going to need this.

Meet...

Let's go find out how it works.

This is a horse's tendon.

These are scientists from

Queen Mary University of London.

They're attaching these

clamps to the horse tendon, which is

then frozen with dry ice.

Let's test how strong this

tendon really is,

but maybe we should start with

something small.

Well, what about Zahara?

She's right here!

Oh, hi, Zahara!

Hi, Chris.

Well, sounds like it's

time for some tendon-powered flight!

Get in the bag! Come on.

Are you strapped in?

Yep.

Helmet on?

Yes.

Great stuff.

Good luck!

We'll see you when you land!

Yeah.

Remember, Zahara's body weight

is being supported

only by the horse tendon,

but will it hold?

Three, two, one...

BOTH:

Liftoff!

You're airborne!

Whoo!

That one small tendon is holding

the full weight of Sahara.

That's amazing.

We're going to push this horse's

tendon to the limit and see if it's

strong enough to take the weight

of not one of us but both of us!

You guys are crazy!

BOTH:

Three, two, one... Liftoff!

Whoa!

Whoa!

We're off!

This is incredible! The only thing

holding us up is a horse tendon!

Wow! That one little tendon is

taking our combined weight of 180kg.

It really is as strong as steel.

See you next time. Bye!

Bye!

Bye.

Bye.

Bye!

Bye.

Bye!