TOPIC: The brain
#58: Tissues with large but variable energy demands, such as skeletal muscle, spermatozoa and the brain, store energy for instant availability as phosphocreatine. This reversibly transfers a phosphate group to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP). read more
#73: All mammals have a wrinkled cortex, but the human cortex is much larger in area (in proportion to the overall brain) than any other animal's. read more
#75: The human brain accounts for 2 per cent of the total mass of the body, but 20 per cent of its oxygen consumption at rest. read more
#74: A 2011 study suggests that the increase in general intelligence seen during adolescence can be attributed to increases in mental speed. read more
#72: The world's largest brain bank is at Harvard, where there are over 7000 brains. read more
#7: Your brain accounts for just 3 per cent of your body's weight but consumes 17 per cent of your body's total energy. read more
#6: The total length of myelinated nerve fibres in the brain is between 150 000 and 180 000 km (enough to go around the Earth about four times). read more
#5: There are no pain receptors in the brain, so brain surgery or injury can occur without causing pain. The scalp and skull, however, are sensitive to pain. read more
#4: Your brain uses less power than your refrigerator light - just 12 watts. read more
#3: The adult brain contains around 100 billion neurons and even more support cells. read more
#2: The hippocampus - a brain region involved in spatial navigation - is bigger than normal in London taxi drivers, who must pass 'The Knowledge', a test based on the city's layout. read more
#1: Our brains form a million new connections every second of our lives. read more
