Journeys: Nerves. Stop 2

The nerve's coat

This is a nerve cell up close. Its long tail is bare! Put a blanket cell on it.

Turn your finger in a circle, and the blanket wraps around the tail in layers.

This fatty coat is called myelin. It is wrapped in layers like a bandage. In little children the coats are still growing.

The coat is on! Touch the flag and let's see which is faster.

In its coat the signal jumps over the blankets and flies at up to 120 metres a second. That is faster than a racing car!