Despite being a scientist, sci-fi/fantasy is just not my cup of
tea. Sometimes, though, I am positive that a scientific name is
really some Klingon starship or Game of Throne character. Ever
since I learned about the nodes of Ranvier in high school
biology, I have been sure that they’re really from some fantasy
world. Today’s image is from a paper that doesn’t really dispel
my confusion...the concept of measuring and understanding high
nerve conduction velocity in teeny tiny axons is other-worldly.
Myelin is a material that forms a layer around the axon of a
neuron. Schwann cells wrap around axons and produce these myelin
sheaths, which are spaced between gaps called the nodes of
Ranvier. The main purpose of myelin is to allow nerve impulses
to move very quickly along the axon, but the relationship
between nerve conduction velocity and the distance between
myelin sheaths was unclear. Recently, Wu and colleagues measured
conduction velocity in mice with Schwann cells carrying a
mutation that prevented elongati