Science Fact of the Day 3.6.12

Unlike some other animals, human nerves undergo a process called Wallerian Degenerationwhen injured. This means that after the injury to the nerve, the nerve endings will shrivel up and degenerate all the way back to the site of the nerve.

This process takes a long time because after degeneration the nerve must regrow all the way back to the area of injury like a vine growing back up a wall when you cut it.

Follow Blog by Email

About the Author

Kyle Hill is a science writer and communicator who specializes in finding the secret science in your favorite fandom. His work has appeared in Wired, The Boston Globe, Scientific American, Popular Science, Discover Magazine, and more. He is a TV correspondent for Al Jazeera America's scienceloop the ball. The top players have such good footwork that the contact point of every loop is virtually the same in relation to their body. However, recreational players will loop some ball with their arm stretched out and others on their right hip.

From the book, I learnt that Werner Schlager likes to play his forehand topspin with a nearly outstretched arm (like the Chinese), instead of a bent arm (like Timo Boll and many other German players). This means that at the end of the backswing, his playing arm is almost fully stretched.

I usually opt for the forehand topspin instead of the backhand topspin against defensive players.

Looping many balls against a chopper, without making a mistake, can be really difficult. In these situations, Werner chooses to rely