Hunched Over a Microscope, He Sketched the Secrets of How the Brain WorksImageSome microscopes today are so powerful that they can create a picture of the gap between brain cells, which is thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair. And in colorful snapshots made possible by a giant magnet, we can see the activity of 100 billion brain cells talking. Ramón y Cajal started out with an interest in the visual arts and photography — he even invented a method for making color photos. Ramón y Cajal wanted to know something no one really understood: How did a neural impulse travel through the brain? Some of these neurons are so large that you don’t need a microscope to see them, unlike most other brain cells.

Source: New York Times February 17, 2017 15:22 UTC