Question: @jennifer Do you know anything cool about neurons because me and my class are learning them in science week

Jennifer Paxton answered on 13 Mar 2018:

Wow, you are learning about neurons in class? That sounds really exciting! What have you learned so far?
Now, you are asking for cool things about neurons…. i think neurons are pretty cool all on their own! They are really very special cells in our nervous system (you can also call them nerve cells) and they are responsible for sending messages all over the body to and from our brain and they allow us to walk, run, laugh, cry, think, move, dance, swim….the list is endless!
There is a really nice video of the structure (or anatomy) of neurons here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta_vWUsrjho
Do you know where the longest neuron in your body is? Neurons can be very, very long indeed – think of them like wires that are sending electrical messages around the body. The longest would be one of many found in a nerve at the back of your leg called the sciatic nerve. This is a big thick nerve (collection of the axons of nerve cells) and it runs all the way from the bottom of your spine to your big toe! How amazing is that?!
Other cool stuff that you might like to know….we always say that the nerve cells send messages but do you know how fast the messages travel? over 150 miles per hour! That’s REALLY fast! Also, someone once told me that the your brain sends more messages in 1 day than all the phones in the entire world :-0