Wes Phillips

Qwan Wen and Dmitri B. Chklovski, two theoretical physicists, have constructed a model that explains why vertebrate brains typically contain both gray matter and white matter. The gray contains local networks of neurons, wired by dendrites and mostly nonmyelinated local axons, while the white contains long-range axons that implement global communication via often myelinated axons.

So what? In this study, Wen and Chklovski postulate that brain functionality benefits from high synaptic connectivity and short conduction delays—the time required for a signal from one neuron soma to reach another.

Best of all, they claim their theory allows "several testable predictions such as the scaling estimate of the cortical thickness."

A dense read—one I'm sure I missed a lot of (perfect for Kal Rubinson, but a tad technical for me). Worth the effort, though.