Nervous System

neuron, nerve cell
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

If you're reading this, your nervous system is online. Nerves — bundles of fibers that start in the brain and spinal and branch out to every part of the body — are what allow us to move, breathe and interact with the world around us (among other highly important functions). To keep up with all nervous system news, check out the latest discoveries related to nerves, from strange disorders, to how individual neurons fire.

Latest about nervous system

A glowing blue and pink Warty Comb Jelly, Mnemiopsis leidyi, swimming in the Black Sea

Alien-like comb jellies have a nervous system like nothing ever seen before

By Stephanie Pappas published

Strange sea creatures called ctenophores have a fused nerve net where scientists expected to see synapses. Did they evolve their nervous system separately from other animals?

An illustration of neurones in the nervous system

The nervous system: Facts, function and diseases

By James Horton last updated

Reference The network of nerves is the body's electrical wiring.

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Illustration of neurons depicted in grey-blue with red light to signify action potentials

Brain cells gone haywire during sleep may lead to chronic pain, mouse study suggests

By Nicoletta Lanese published

A mouse study hints at why chronic pain and poor sleep are linked.

the gut-brain connection via the gut-brain axis

Gut-brain axis: How it works and its link to mental health

By Anna Gora published

Reference The gut-brain axis refers to the connection between the gut and the brain.

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close up on a person's hand turning the page of a large book

Why are paper cuts so painful?

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Our anatomy and the nature of paper make paper cuts super painful.

older man wearing button up, jeans and socks sits on a couch holding his right foot, as if in pain

Why does stubbing your toe hurt so much?

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Here's the science behind why stubbing your toe is oddly excruciating.

glowing red neurons shown in a cross section of a mouse spinal cord

Electrical zaps can 'reawaken' lost neural connections, helping paralyzed people walk again

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Scientists identified specific spinal nerve cells that people likely need to regain the ability to walk after paralyzing injuries.

3D model of the embryo of a cambrian creature; the ring-shaped brain is marked in yellow within the embryo (left) and in a detailed image on its own (right)

Penis worm's ancient cousin fossilized with its doughnut-shaped brain intact

By Nicoletta Lanese last updated

Scientists found preserved brain tissue in a Cambrian fossil.

histological image shows a cross section of clitoral tissue, stained blue; bundles of nerve fibers look like clusters of blue dots

In a 1st, scientists counted all 10,000 nerve fibers in the human clitoris

By Nicoletta Lanese last updated

The clitoris contains thousands more touch-detecting nerve fibers than once thought.

illustration of the ebola virus

Ebola can linger in brain fluid and trigger deadly relapse, monkey study suggests

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Ebola can lurk in fluid-filled cavities in the brain.

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