Neuron Forest: The Art + Science of Life, Art, and Earth

 A Neuron Forest for the Trees

How is a forest similar to a neuron?

a comparison of my art above and a wiki image of a neuron

Fascinated by the recent conversation I had with two Neurologists, from University of Calgary, about a piece of my art as they saw not a forest but a bunch of neurons. I did some research on how neurons compare to forests.. and I now I am even more amazed. 

from WIKI, "A neuron is a nerve cell that is the basic building block of the nervous system. Neurons are similar to other cells in the human body in a number of ways, but there is one key difference between neurons and other cells. Neurons are specialized to transmit information throughout the body."

from WIKI," The forest is a complex ecosystem consisting mainly of trees that buffer the earth and support a myriad of life forms. The trees help create a special environment which, in turn, affects the kinds of animals and plants that can exist in the forest. ... Plants provide habitat to different types of organisms."

Lastly, a short while ago I listened to a podcast on a Canadian Forester (female too!). She made a discovery on trees and forest communication. It seems that different species of trees in the same forest (limitless in size), send nutrients, health warnings, and when they are about to die, they send their carbon and minerals out to the rest of the trees. Listen to the full episode link below.

http://www.forestry.ubc.ca/…/podcast-radiolab-from-tree-to…/