The nervous system is made up of 2 types of cells, the gila and neurons. Gila cells gets it’s name from the Greek word for “glue”, as they provide structural support for neurons. The neurons function is processing communication and information. Both the neurons and gila work together to facilitate nervous system functions. The gila is classified by size. The largest are the macrogila, and the smaller one called microgila.  The macrogila are broken down into three types: astrocytes, oligdendrocytes, and Schwann cells which make up the myelin insulating covering of the axon fibers, made of proteins. Microgila functions as the brains clean up mechanism. when at rest these cells probe out with there branches to detect molecules that can cause cell damage from injury, a stroke or any other source that is damaging, the tiny cells of microgila move to the location of the injury and digest the damaging debris.

Astrocytes have several support functions, while having  a close association with the blood stream by means of the capillaries. these cells or star shaped hence the name astro (meaning star) which provide structural support, regulation of the extracellular chemical environment at the synapse, as well as insolation of the synapse. Oligodendrocytes provide strucural support by  means of forming mylin on axions. Schwann cells form the mylin on the axions in the peripheral nervous system. Neurons are cells that specialize in processing information and communication of the nervous system.

The Structure of Neurons: 

Neurons differ somewhat structurally from other cells as they have extending branches protruding from their cell body which are the axions and dendrites that are used to communicate with other cells. Axions carry signals to other cells. The structural support of the neuron is provided by the cytoskeleton, which is a network of filaments that provides the internal structure of the neuron.

Dendrites: 

Many dendrites (Greek for tree) which serve as locations in which information from other neurons are received. At each synapse on a dendrite,  ligand-gated ion channels operate as receptor sites within the the neural membrane which interact with neurotransmitter molecules released by nearby neurons that float across the synaptic gap, a fluid filled space between the receiving and transmitting neurons.

Axion:

Most of the neurons have many number of branches called dendrites, but usually have only on axion, which is responsible for carrying signals and messages to other neurons. The axion hillock which is a cone shaped segment of the axion at the junction of the axion and cell body (soma). Action Potentials (electrical signals) rise in the axion hillock and fire down the length of axion.

Being single and unmarried in an urban setting such as New York has many advantages, such as not having a significant other to answer to or worrying about getting home at a certain hour, in short there are no rules but your own.  Living independence and autonomy is the name of the game here.  Being male and single is important to many, as we are not “Tied Down” and can pursue our hobbies and interests at our own leisure without the hassle of relationships.

Males who are single by choice like myself, have a mental well-being much better than if in a relationship.  While the myths of men who choose the single life, such as being self-centered, lonely, and that we just don’t care for others, is simply false. There are many friends and acquaintances that we care about and respect very much.  One of the stereotypes of single people is that they are afraid of commitment, which is not the case, many single men show great commitment to their work, studies, organizations, and hobbies.

We live in a society that teaches us that we must get married by a certain age, and if we don’t than we have failed in something, marriage is not for everyone. While female companionship is nice on a short term basis, and having “open relationships” can work out quite well. Cohabitation is fine if the freedom to pursue and fulfill our own lifestyle, are not infringed upon.

Freedom and independence is of the utmost importance for such men. Being married is not what society has led us to believe, which is why the divorce rate is 50% in the U.S. Having two or more intimate female partners can be just as fulfilling, than a contemporary marriage, not to imply that marriage for some is not.

Cohabitation has become more widespread in the U.S. than ever before, as well as being more accepted.  As an alternative to marriage cohabitation is more suited for the type of male that enjoys being single, if the situation does not work out, than there is less mess and clutter to deal with.

Being single and unmarried for some can be a great lifestyle for those gentlemen who prefer their freedom and independence, and choose to live life on their own terms.

Biological Psychology/Behavioral Neuroscience is the study of the human nervous system and the brain, in both homeostatic and pathological states. Biological neuroscientists try to get a broad understanding of the brains functions and how it translates to human thought processes and behavior. By working up from the Molecular-Cellular-Synaptic-Network-Behavioral levels in the nervous system the neuroscientist tracks the process from the DNA and RNA along with the gene expressions which produce proteins from polypeptide chains.

As far back as 7,000 years ago human skulls have been found with evidence of brain surgery. These ancient skulls had holes drilled in them, a technique known as “Trepanation”, and many of these skulls have been shown to have healing around the holes after receiving this procedure, suggesting that many patients survived this crude surgery in ancient times.

An ancient Egyptian text known as “The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus” which may be the oldest known medical journal in the world set forth many sophisticated observations about the nervous system, such as the absence of sensation in the human body, or paralysis was due to damage to the nerves, and listed in the text that these “conditions” were not to be treated, suggesting an understanding that damage was permanent. Greek scholars who studied the Egyptian medical journal in the 4^th century put forth that the human brain was the seat of sensation. While Hippocrates correctly stated that epilepsy had its origin in the brain. In the 16^th and 17^th century in France, Rene Descartes put forward the perspective of “Mind-Body Dualism” which states that the mind is separate (nonphysical) and the body is mechanistic.

(The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus)

In the 20^th century scientist like Camillo Golgi supported the idea that the nervous system was a vast array of interconnected network of fibers, and Santiago Ramon y Cajal set forth that the nervous system was constructed of separate and independent cells, and his concept was known as the “Neuron Doctrine”.

Luigi Galvani experimented with frogs in a laboratory in his basement in which he demonstrated that electricity played a role in neural communication.

Other scientists, though respectable, like Franz Josef Gall and Johann Gasper Spurzheim in the 18^th and 19^th century was misguided when they put forth the science of “Phrenology”, in which they thought (in error) that the bumps on someone’s head could be used to correlate an individual’s personality and natural abilities. A bust of a human head was a guide which showed the location of the particular “trait” on the head, which is an example of very bad science.

Credits:

Ernest Everett Just was an African American Biologist, Research Scientist, Educator, and Physiologist. His important work on fertilization and biology went unnoticed for many years, 40 years to be exact because he was a black man. Born on August 14, 1883 in Charleston North Carolina, Ernest Everett Just completed a four year course in only three years at Kimball Hall Academy in New Hampshire.  In his freshman year at Dartmouth College, Ernest Just had the highest marks in Greek, and with special honors in botany, history, and sociology was the only student to graduate magna cum laude in 1907.

“In 1907, Dr. Just began to teach at Howard University. Beginning in 1909, he began to conduct research as a research assistant during the summer months for Professor Frank Rattray Lillie, the second director of the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. In 1916, Ernest Just received the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy magna cum laude from the University of Chicago in experimental embryology, with a thesis on the mechanics of fertilization.”

Dr. Just, while academically brilliant and a phenomenal researcher, his work went largely ignored regardless of his huge contributions to science as a result of a racist scientific community and racist America.  “Ernest Everett Just, an African-American biologist known for his studies of fertilization and early development in marine invertebrates, lay forgotten, buried in the scientific literature.”

Dr. Just had and amazing ability to make marine embryos and eggs develop at a normal pace, and many marine biologists sought his knowledge on the subject. “Basic Methods for Experiments on Eggs of Marine Animals” was a laboratory manual he published in 1939. Just traveled to Naples in Italy to study the fertilization in several European sea urchins, as well to investigate if the American Platynereis megalops was the same as the Mediterranean annelid Nereis dumerllii, which he proved was not the same as many at the time have thought.

The very famous German embryologist Max Hartmann invited Dr. Just to visit the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute for Biology not far from Berlin in Germany, an invitation like this for an American was unheard of at the time. The Germans were studying whether the cell cortex could in any way be applied to their research on the Amoeba proteus, in which they saw Dr. Just’s work  on the subject to be parallel with their own work.

After graduating from college Dr. Just’s went to work as a researcher and to teach at Howard University. Dr. Just also worked for the Woods Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts in 1909. He also studied experimental embryology from the University of Chicago where he also earned his doctorate in Philosophy. Dr. Just spent time in Paris at Sorbonne penning his second book “The Biology of the Cell Surface”. In his 30 year career, Dr. Just published over 70 articles, a few of them in journals overseas in Germany.

One of his articles written in Naturwissenschaften showed for the very first time the “correlated changes in cell adhesiveness with developmental stages during the early embryonic cleavage process”. Sometime after 1936 Dr. Just’s written papers were a bit more “philosophical” and began to challenge his American contemporaries whom he regarded as adopting more simplistic theories and views. Because of his challenge to his American colleagues he was rejected and denied funding in 1938 (mostly because his theories and views were more advanced and sophisticated).

So Dr. just continued his research in self-imposed exile, in Europe at a small French fishing village, with the “Station Biologigue at Roscoff” on the English Channel. When the Nazis invaded the area near Paris he had to return to America and back to Howard University.

Dr. Everett Just has made many scientific contributions to science and Marine Biology, experimental parthenogenesis, cell division, fertilization, dehydration in living cells, hydration, and the effect of ultra violet rays which increase chromosome numbers in animals, as well as Zoology.  Dr. Just was awarded the first Springarn Medal for the outstanding achievement by a black American by the NAACP.

Dr. Just was also a contributor to Dr. Jerome Alexander’s second volume, of his series of three volumes on Colloid Chemistry. Dr. Just also had a fellowship in Biology from the National Research Council.  Dr. Just, also lectured at the Eleventh International Congress of Zoologists, which was entitled, “Role of Cortical Cytoplasm in Vital Phenomena” based on his fifty published papers on the subject in Padua, Italy in 1930. He also worked at the marine biological laboratories in Naples and in Sicily.

On June 26, 1912 Ernest Just married Ethel Highwarden a high school teacher which whom he had three children with, however they divorced in 1939. A few months later Just married a German woman he met in Berlin by the name of Hedwig Schnetzler who was a student of philosophy in Berlin.

The following year in 1940 Dr. Just was arrested by the Nazis and placed in a concentration camp, but his wife’s father had some influence in Germany and facilitated his release, and later had a daughter together which they named Elizabeth. On October 27, 1941 Dr. Ernest Everett Just died from pancreatic cancer in Washington D.C., where he was interred in Maryland at the Lincoln Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.

In conclusion, this great man of integrity and academic achievement, a scientific genius, modest and committed to serving humanity was overlooked and passed over for his accomplishments and great contributions only because of the color of his skin. Dr. Just a great scientist in the field of Biology, and role model for young students in the sciences. Not ever mentioned in any science textbook in the United States that he had to travel to Europe to receive any type of recognition, and the best America could do is offer him a postage stamp, and that only recently!

It saddens my heart to only learn about this great African American man of science in my adulthood. I would have loved to read about Dr. Ernest Everett while I was developing my interest in the sciences as a child, he most definitely would have been one of my role models growing up, as well as for so many others of all races who have interest in the sciences.

How many other’s like Dr. Ernest Just who have had a huge impact on the lives of all Americans that I have yet to discover, who have been downplayed and buried under the rug because they are black. I salute Dr. Ernest Everett Just, and all known, and unknown unsung heroes of African American decent who despite the challenge of racism, continued to serve all of humanity for the common good of everyone.