• Photos of the lecture

Prof. Dr Christiane Richter-Landsberg
Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences

The brain is our life: this is where our thinking, remembering and feeling take place; it enables us to read and allows us to use a computer. The brain is part of our central nervous system. 100 billion nerve cells – as many as there are stars in the sky – connect with one another, sending and receiving messages. They are supported in this by billions of other cells known as glial cells. An adult human brain weighs about 1.5 kilograms; a dog’s brain weighs 70 grams, whilst an owl’s weighs just 2 grams. An elephant has a really large brain: it weighs 6 kilograms. Is that why it’s smarter than all the others?

On our journey through the brain, you’ll learn how the cells work and how they ‘talk’ to one another. By the end, you’ll know why chocolate tastes so good and why we’d be better off steering clear of jellyfish and venomous snakes.

Presenter: Martin Reckweg (NDR)

Wednesday, 1 March 2006, 4.30 pm
, Audimax Lecture Centre