Why Science Is Still Discovering New Parts of the Human Body

For most of human history, the inner workings of the human body remained a secret. Over the last few centuries, the invention of the microscope and other scientific techniques allowed scientists to learn about the structure and function of our anatomy. Just in the past decade, researchers perfected the art of imaging microstructures while highlighting different cell types with fluorescent colors. In some cases, it helps make it possible to see the glow with the naked eye.

That’s what happened when Kjeld Møllgård, an 80-year old neuroscientist, was dissecting mice to study the structure of microscopic tunnels surrounding the brain—and spotted something unexpected.

This was part of a research study led by Maiken Nedergaard, a professor of neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, who was looking to uncover the secrets behind the brain’s glial cells and its waste disposal systems. Although glia are seldom mentioned, they make up roughly half the brain and do just about everything—from supporting neurons to recycling brain signaling molecules to immune support.

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