Dividing brain cancer cells. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a cancerous astrocyte brain cell that has just undergone cytokinesis (cell division). The cells are still attached by a cytoplasmic bridge (lower right). Magnification: x4000 when printed 10 centimetres wide.
Credit: STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
(via sciencephotolibrary)
ScienceDaily (Mar. 29, 2012) — A type of cell plentiful in the brain, long considered mainly the stuff that holds the brain together and oft-overlooked by scientists more interested in flashier cells known as neurons, wields more power in the brain than has been realized, according to new research published March 29 in Science Signaling.
Neuroscientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center report that astrocytes are crucial for creating the proper environment for our brains to work. The team found that the cells play a key role in reducing or stopping the electrical signals that are considered brain activity, playing an active role in determining when cells called neurons fire and when they don’t.
(via thenewenlightenmentage)
A false-color view of human brain tissue shows an astrocyte (green) reaching out to a blood vessel (yellow and red). The neurons (blue) are not in direct contact with the vessel and rely on astrocytes for the transport of nutrients of waste.
Source: MSNBC
Astrocyte
