The Hidden Engineering Inside Your Body

Guest: Dr. Howard Glicksman

Host: Allan CP

Episode Description

What keeps you alive every moment of every day?

Breathing. Blood sugar regulation. Calcium balance. Oxygen transport. Hydration. Hormone signaling. Organ coordination.

In this episode, physician and author Dr. Howard Glicksman walks us through the hidden control systems inside the human body that must function precisely or life quickly fails.

Instead of only asking how organisms look, this conversation explores how life actually works. From bone formation and oxygen delivery to hunger, thirst, and blood sugar regulation, we unpack the engineering challenges every living body must solve to stay alive.

This episode makes complex physiology understandable and personally relevant for students, parents, and curious learners alike.

⏱ Chapters

00:00 Introduction and welcome

00:33 Dr. Glicksman’s background and journey into medicine and science

02:27 Discovering intelligent design and irreducible complexity

04:57 Explaining complex medical science to everyday patients

07:21 Why museums show how life looks, not how it works

12:54 How bones actually form and maintain themselves

14:17 Why calcium control is essential for survival

17:26 Engineering principles and biological systems

24:26 Survival alarms: breathing, thirst, and hunger signals

27:23 Why multicellular organisms need complex support systems

36:14 The many ways the body can fail when systems break

37:13 Why health habits deeply affect survival systems

39:48 Oxygen transport and cascading biological solutions

43:50 Books, videos, and resources for deeper study

46:08 Episode closing thoughts

Episode Summary

Dr. Glicksman shares how decades of medical practice revealed the extraordinary coordination required for human survival. Every moment, bodily systems monitor and regulate oxygen, nutrients, fluids, and minerals through interconnected control networks.

Listeners discover:

• Bones are active metabolic organs, not just structural supports

• Calcium levels must stay within tight limits for muscles and nerves to work

• Breathing, hunger, and thirst act as survival alarms

• Blood sugar is regulated continuously by opposing hormonal systems

• Oxygen delivery requires coordinated lung, blood, and cellular functions

• Multiple systems cooperate simultaneously to sustain life

The episode reframes the human body as a dynamic network of systems working together constantly.

Key Teaching Points1) Life Requires Constant Regulation

Sensors, feedback loops, and response systems operate continuously to maintain survival conditions.

2) Body Systems Depend on Each Other

Respiration, circulation, metabolism, hydration, and temperature regulation function together.

3) Precision Matters

Too much or too little oxygen, sugar, calcium, or fluids can cause serious consequences quickly.

4) The Body Is Dynamic

Bones, organs, and tissues are constantly being maintained and regulated.

5) Engineering Concepts Help Explain Biology

Feedback loops, sensors, and control logic are central to how life functions.

Discussion Questions

Great for families or classrooms:

• What surprised you most about how your body works?

• Why do survival systems require precise balance?

• How do hunger, thirst, and breathing signals protect us?

• Why must organs cooperate instead of working independently?

• How does learning physiology change how you think about health?

Practical Takeaways

• Sleep, hydration, nutrition, and exercise support multiple systems simultaneously.

• Health habits influence complex internal processes.

• Understanding physiology encourages better personal health decisions.

Resources Mentioned

Dr. Glicksman’s work:

• Your Amazing Body

• Your Designed Body

• Discovery Institute video series

• Science & Culture articles

• Access Research Network publications

Closing Thought

Thousands of processes inside you coordinate every second to keep you alive. Most go unnoticed—until something fails.

Understanding these systems deepens appreciation for the human body and inspires lifelong curiosity about science.