Propofol is the most commonly used drug to induce general anesthesia. Despite its frequent clinical application, exactly how propofol causes anesthesia is poorly understood.
Cell & Microbiology
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214
The average human swallows 500 to 700 times a day. Imagine if each of those swallows were a struggle.
Cell & Microbiology
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Recent studies have shown that under the axonal membrane, rings composed of actin filaments give the structure its flexibility. But those studies had not been able to define the precise architecture of these rings. By combining ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 20, 2019
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"Grandmother, why do you have such big ears?" is one of the most well-known questions in literature, posed of course by Red Riding Hood as she hesitantly observes the wolf dressed in her Grandmother's clothes. Had Red Riding ...
General Physics
Jul 3, 2019
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A discovery in a transparent roundworm has brought scientists one step closer to understanding nerve degeneration.
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 11, 2016
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In research published in the Journal of Cell Biology, scientists from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have made important steps toward understanding how dynein—a "molecular motor"—walks along tube-like structures ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 12, 2015
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Researchers from the Biomedical Engineering Department of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey recently demonstrated the use of their "Brain-on-a-Chip" microsystem to assess specific effects of traumatic axonal injury. ...
Other
Jul 17, 2014
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(Phys.org) —Even the mildest form of a traumatic brain injury, better known as a concussion, can deal permanent, irreparable damage. Now, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania is using ...
General Physics
Mar 6, 2014
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Strict regulation of axon branching and synapse formation is critical for the correct development of the embryonic nervous system, and dysfunction in these processes can lead to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 7, 2014
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Sexual attraction of the electric sort happens when stingrays meet, according to a researcher at The University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute - and the finding may help prevent shark attacks on humans.
Ecology
Jul 9, 2013
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An axon or nerve fiber is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's cell body or soma.
An axon is one of two types of protoplasmic protrusions that extrude from the cell body of a neuron, the other type being dendrites. Axons are distinguished from dendrites by several features, including shape (dendrites often taper while axons usually maintain a constant radius), length (dendrites are restricted to a small region around the cell body while axons can be much longer), and function (dendrites usually receive signals while axons usually transmit them). All of these rules have exceptions, however.
Some types of neurons have no axon—these are called amacrine cells, and transmit signals from their dendrites. No neuron ever has more than one axon; however in invertebrates such as insects the axon sometimes consists of several regions that function more or less independently of each other. Most axons branch, in some cases very profusely.
Axons make contact with other cells—usually other neurons but sometimes muscle or gland cells—at junctions called synapses. At a synapse, the membrane of the axon closely adjoins the membrane of the target cell, and special molecular structures serve to transmit electrical or electrochemical signals across the gap. Some synaptic junctions appear partway along an axon as it extends—these are called en passant ("in passing") synapses. Other synapses appear as terminals at the ends of axonal branches. A single axon, with all its branches taken together, can innervate multiple parts of the brain and generate thousands of synaptic terminals.
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