BPoD has moved!

BPoD has recently changed our domain name - we can now be found at bpod.org.uk

Please update your bookmarks!

Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Well-oiled Machine

Glial cells – non-neuronal cells of the nervous system – control the speed and precision of peripheral nerve signals

20 October 2020

Well-oiled Machine

The finely tuned machine that is your nervous system relies on electrical signals travelling quickly and accurately along one neuron’s nerve fibre, or axon, to another. To ensure this speed and precision, axons must be well insulated. Enter glial cells, which make up half of the cells in our brain but are also found across the body (shown here in a fruit fly, with each colour labelling a different glial cell). Glia deliver the energy that neurons need, but also create the insulating coat around their axons. When scientists removed or blocked glial cells in fruit flies, they found that these coatings were missing or malformed, resulting in electrical signals from a neuron not reaching its target recipients. These findings illustrate one of the many ways in which glial cells help to keep the complex cogs of the nervous system turning.

Written by Gaëlle Coullon

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.