Neurons send signals through electrical impulses and chemical messengers

How neurons give rise to thoughts

Neurons in the brain are singular nerve cells that flicker on and off or connect to each other based on incoming stimuli. The more neurons communicate by firing electrical impulses through tendrils known as synapses, the stronger their connection becomes. The electrical energy zipping along these interneural connections in an attempt to classify and respond to incoming stimuli may be what gives rise to thoughts.

Take a deep dive into the neuron

Neurons are the basic unit of the brain and nervous system—electrically excitable cells that sends signals throughout the body. They can communicate with each other, fire in sequence, and conspire to do everything from drive body movement to help form memories. Check out this intro-level overview to learn more about their structure and how they work.

Age, stress, and neurological disorders can prevent memory formation and recall

Neurons transmit signals between one another at sites called synapses. Repeated interactions at these sites improve the efficiency of signal transmissions, making memories involving sensory data associated with those neurons easier to recall. Biochemical factors impacting these synaptic interactions affect memory quality.

How brain cells carry information

At any moment, there is an electrical storm coursing through your body. Discover how chemical reactions create an electric current that drives our responses to everything from hot pans to a mother’s caress.

Synaptic plasticity allows neurons to communicate effectively and form memories

First proposed in 1949, synaptic plasticity allows the brain to adjust communication strength between neurons. This ability to change synaptic strength—either briefly or over long periods—is essential for learning and memory, with long-term synaptic plasticity forming the basis of how memories are stored.

Neural rhythms shape how we move, focus, remember, and interact with the world

Millions of neurons in the brain produce rhythmic electrical signals, or brain waves, that guide physical movement and help form and store memories. Researchers also use these rhythms to create brain-computer interfaces, letting people control devices using only their thoughts.

Complex molecular reactions in our tissues cause muscle contraction

When we want to move a muscle, a signal travels from the brain and into the muscle cells in question, sparking a chemical reaction that causes the muscle's smallest contractile units—sarcomeres—to shorten, forcing the muscle to contract.

Explore how cells respond to signals from their environment

In "Dropping Signals," users can drag stimuli, such as hormones and light, into various cellular environments to observe cellular responses. These include changing their shape, enabling the transport of chemicals into or out of the cell via the cell membrane, or dividing to compensate for surrounding damaged cells.

Our sense of smell affects what foods taste like and how we perceive it

Scent stimulates our olfactory sensor neurons high in the nasal cavity, and the brain attaches labels to those scents. But when we eat, chemicals from the foods travel from our mouths and throat to those neurons. We have roughly 400 odor receptors, and they can be used to decipher more than 10,000 different odors (or more than one trillion by some calculations), including the nuances of different foods.

Transistors are the foundation of electronic signal processing

Small amounts of voltage can allow or block the flow of electrons across a transistor made from modified layers of semiconducting materials. The conducting (1) and insulating (0) states can be quickly modified as binary code is processed in a computer system.

Elon Musk's Neuralink's N1 chip can wirelessly read brain signals from over 2,000 electrodes

The device is a battery-powered brain implant that transmits data via Bluetooth. Neuralink's near-term objectives for the device focus on unlocking new treatments for paralysis, neurological disorders, and some psychiatric conditions.

Cells translate genetic information into proteins using RNA messengers

Genes are segments of DNA, each composed of a sequence of nitrogenous bases. Within the nucleus, these sequences are copied into a single strand of ribonucleic acid during transcription. This strand leaves the nucleus and is translated by ribosomes into a chain of amino acids that folds into a functional protein.

What exactly is dopamine?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter—a chemical released by neurons that enables neural communication—that makes people want things with an "almost animalistic desire," compelling them to snack or check phone notifications. Often misrepresented as a "pleasure" chemical, dopamine is involved in motivation, learning, attention, habit formation, and more. Trends like dopamine fasting overinflate its role in mental health and often use it as part of "straw man" biohacking claims.

Neural networks mimic the structure and behavior of real physical systems

Early generative AI systems were inspired by scientific models such as the Ising model, which explains how atoms interact with one another and align in magnets. As these networks have expanded, their behavior has more closely resembled that of quantum fields, enabling them to be used in exploring complex particle physics interactions.

We hear because soundwaves are converted into electrochemical signals in our ears

This science teacher video systematically walks through the biology of the outer, middle, and inner ear. The explanation starts with the auricle, an external part that funnels sound through the auditory canal, and the tympanic membrane (the ear drum), which vibrates when sounds hit it. Beyond that, as the video details, is the eustachian tube, which is connected to the back of our throats and allows air to pass in and out to equalize ear pressure.

A Venus flytrap's hairs convert sensory touch into electrical signals

A stretch-activated ion channel called DmMSL10 acts as an amplifier, converting grazing contact into a strong impulse that the plant uses to react and close its jaw. To distinguish prey from raindrops or other stimuli, the jaw only closes when the hairs are touched twice in quick succession.

Bacteria use chemical signals to communicate and coordinate with one another

Through a system called quorum sensing, bacteria produce and absorb compounds from their environment to identify allies or competitors and adjust their behavior accordingly. Some bacteria produce food-digesting enzymes only in the presence of similar bacteria, thereby preventing competitors from consuming their meal.

While dreaming, the brain connects new information with already-stored memories

During dream sleep, the brain makes connections between new information learned during the day and information already stored in the mind, creating a revised mind-wide web of associations. The dreamer also temporarily becomes confused about time and place and is subjected to a pendulum of strong emotions.

Some animals may speak because of duplicated connections in the brain

Neuroscience suggests that connections responsible for motion made during embryonic brain development—such as those connecting hearing and movement pathways that allow reactive motion when started—are duplicated and connected to the larynx in some animals. This allows some mammals and song-learning birds to speak, provided they have the necessary physiological structures.

Listen to how the gut microbiome influences your emotions

The gut-microbiome connection may involve the enteric nervous system, a collection of hundreds of millions of neurons throughout the gut that transmit signals up the vagus nerve to the brain.

How chemical bonds between atoms form molecules and large geometric structures

In ionic bonding, one atom transfers at least one electron to another atom, forming two atoms of opposite charge. These atoms attract one another and can stack up in a 3D grid called a lattice. Covalent bonding, where electrons are instead shared, can produce enormous molecules, such as the two found in human chromosome 13, which each contain 37 billion atoms.

Itching is caused by stimulated nerve cells in the skin

Scratching produces low-level pain signals to the brain, distracting from the itch. Scratching also releases serotonin, a neurotransmitter that creates a happy sensation, which resets the itch signal. This can cause a cyclical itch-scratch cycle.

Nanoplastics can bypass the blood-brain barrier and may harm the nervous system

Nanoplastics are formed from the breakdown of microplastics and can breach cells. Their large surface area relative to size allows them to carry higher concentrations of forever chemicals than the surrounding environment into sensitive organs.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Genetically modified viruses can help construct battery electrodes

MIT scientists' modifications caused the viruses to attract conductive materials, such as gold ions, which the viruses self-assembled into nanowires that could be used in batteries. These components allow batteries to be thinner and flexible enough to be constructed into new shapes.

Photons are both particles of light and messengers of the electromagnetic force

Einstein's model of light as a wave and a massless particle of energy revolutionized physics, and scientists' application of the model led to groundbreaking technologies, including medical imaging and treatments, telecommunication signals, and probes of the quantum and cosmological realms.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Massive blooms of microscopic plankton called dinoflagellates produce the neon blue light seen in glowing tides.

Ebola infects and disables immune cells, triggering a cascade of events that leads to small blood clots throughout the body, weakening blood vessels and interrupting blood flow to key organs.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls