Careful pruning guides neuron function
Accessory brain cells called glial cells nibble nerve cells to affect worm memory, behavior even at the single-cell level April 6, 2021 • By Sabrina Richards / Fred Hutch News Service Dr. Aakanksha Singhvi (right) and graduate student Stephan Raiders (left) discuss their work on glial cells, critical brain cells that help neurons function properly. Photo by Robert Hood / Fred Hutch News Service
The neurons in our brains and bodies do amazing things: sense the outside world, transmit information, guide our behavior. But they don’t do it alone.
Using tiny worms with well-mapped nervous systems, scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center answered a longstanding question about the role of accessory brain cells called glial cells in supporting neuron function. Their study was published recently in the journal eLife.
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The nervous system In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have gained new insights into how signal molecules are transported in some of the longest cells in the nervous system. The discovery is made by examining the transport process in fruit flies. The researchers hope that the results can contribute to understanding human illnesses such as neuropathy and neurodegenerative disease. Photo: Colourbox The nervous system is the internet of the human body and can in the same way transfer signals over long distances very quickly. Some of the most important elements in this signaling are the axons. They are projections of the nerve cells which send signals to other nerve cells or muscles. For instance, axons that jut out from nerve cells in the spinal cord can be over one meter long.
The Globe and Mail
This is your brain on trees: Why is urban nature so good for our minds, and what happens when a pandemic isolates us from it?
Green space helps people feel less depressed and fatigued, and science is still exploring all the other ways it lifts our spirits. In a global crisis, we could all use more time in nature Hannah Hoag Published April 17, 2021
Kate Hutchinson/The Globe and Mail
As temperatures warmed last spring, Montrealers flocked to Mount Royal Park. Trapped inside – first by winter, then by lockdowns – the city’s residents were desperate for nature. The winding trails, lush forests and steep escarpments of Mount Royal offered an ideal remedy for their cabin fever. And as the pandemic has dragged on, the 700-acre green space has become such a popular destination that the city has repeatedly closed its parking lots to limit access during peak periods.