Neurons are the specialized cells that allow our bodies to transmit impulses, like factories that process inputs. They send signals that help us catch a ball, recognize a favorite song or pull our hand away from something hot; their structure and electrical properties make these rapid responses possible.
Each year, six Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry, economics, literature and peace work. This year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for their groundbreaking discoveries in peripheral immune tolerance — the mechanism by which the immune system prevents itself from attacking the body’s own cells.
