Two cells that rule our world
The secret life of the two cell types that rule the world
Growing up I wasn’t particularly terrific at maths or science, so if you’re like me, I naturally disengaged whenever I was faced with an unnecessarily complicated algebra equation or an elaborate science experiment.
In my 20s, I started to think perhaps those biology lessons were maybe more useful than I admitted.
Thank God, for neuroplasticity and our ability to learn!
The brain is a remarkable specimen of nature’s engineering.
That squishy, gooey, pink thing, that’s sitting in our skulls (at this very moment), and mostly invisible to us—is also the only thing that’s keeping us alive.
What’s more fascinating is: did you know a brain is made up of only two cell types? I know I was surprised to learn this too.
Here’s a representation of the two brain cells I am referring to:
Three quick facts:
There are roughly 85 billion neurons and glia cells in an average adult brain.
A neuron’s cell body is smaller than a grain of sand.
A glia cell is about the size of a dust particle floating in sunlight.
These two tiny structures are the only two things that are responsible for our entire brain— aka the most complex and essential structure known to humanity.
