🔬 Sciencepublished 2w ago
Nerve signals can race through your body at 270 miles per hour
When you stub your toe or reflexively pull your hand from a hot pan, electrical signals do not crawl. In heavily myelinated motor neurons, fatty insulation prevents electrical leaks and forces action potentials to jump from node to node. Known as saltatory conduction, this mechanism accelerates nerve impulses up to 120 meters per second—nearly 270 miles per hour. Without myelin insulation, complex large animals could never react fast enough to survive.
Sources
✨ Sparklet is a feed of fact-checked learning cards like this one.
Join free — start your streak