My labmates @weiby.bsky.social @ehsu6.bsky.social are astrocyte nerds that belong here

Thank you!

Could you add me as well?

Of course - my pleasure to chat! Learning is a lifelong/collaborative process, and it's definitely an important time to be thinking about the future of science.

Of course! I love the science I do, and it's fun to talk about it with thoughtful, curious people like yourself

I think the knowledge itself -- of how we grow, learn, think, and see -- is on its own valuable and worth pursuing. But by studying both how glia contribute to normal brain function and how they go wrong in disease, we can apply this knowledge to develop newer and better drugs for brain diseases.

Glial cells can help make sure that the brain imports essential nutrients, and can even increase blood flow to brain regions that are particularly active (similar to how our heart racing during a run can help move extra blood to the muscles)

Thinking about fitness/dieting is a good start! Much like our bodies as a whole, our brain (and individual brain cells) need lots of energy to survive and do their jobs. In fact, even though the brain weighs about 2% of our body weight it needs about 20% of our blood + energy supply

Haha welcome! Glia are types of brain cells that are very cool and historically understudied - they can prevent toxins from entering the brain, regulate brain metabolism, and shape health + disease in complicated ways that we are still trying to figure out.