We used to have lab meetings in a room that had a printout on the wall of one of those grids of how post-docs, technicians, PIs, PhD students are viewed by each other. That got me thinking, on a smaller scale, of the same opinions played out between neuronal and glial biologists. Everyone thinks of the brain as being made of nerve cells but there are actually as least as many glial cells. The name means ‘glue’ and for many years they were regarded as little more than filler, providing support and insulation for the electrical cables of the nerves. We now know that glia are crucial for the health of neurons and the formation and maintenance of circuits. If each nerve cell is a computing cluster then the glia are the teams and technicians, engineers and even programmers that keep them connected.
Best of brain friends
I’m quite chuffed with the Marlon Brando Godfather cell, it turned out better than I hoped. The challenge with any cartoon that anthropomorphosises cells is to capture an expression or likeness while still keeping the features smooth and ‘cellular’. I was pleased with how the cell protrusions (that many glia have) worked as hair.
This design is available on a range of cool products at my RedBubble store.