Neuroscientists have made a rosy discovery: a new type of human brain cell.
The newest neuron has been named the "rosehip neuron," thanks to its bushy appearance. The brain cell, with its unique gene expressions, distinctive shape and diverse connections with other neurons, has not been described before and, what's more, it isn't present in neuroscientists' favorite subject: mice.
An international group of researchers reported their finding on Aug. 27, 2018 in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
"It's very bushy," said Trygve Bakken, one of the lead authors of the paper and senior scientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. Neurons have long branches called dendrites that receive signals from other neurons. In the rosehip cells, these dendrites are "very compact with lots of branch points, so it kind of looks a little bit like a rosehip," Bakken told Live Science. (Rosehips are a type of fruit produced by rose plants.) Read more...
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The newest neuron has been named the "rosehip neuron," thanks to its bushy appearance. The brain cell, with its unique gene expressions, distinctive shape and diverse connections with other neurons, has not been described before and, what's more, it isn't present in neuroscientists' favorite subject: mice.
An international group of researchers reported their finding on Aug. 27, 2018 in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
"It's very bushy," said Trygve Bakken, one of the lead authors of the paper and senior scientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. Neurons have long branches called dendrites that receive signals from other neurons. In the rosehip cells, these dendrites are "very compact with lots of branch points, so it kind of looks a little bit like a rosehip," Bakken told Live Science. (Rosehips are a type of fruit produced by rose plants.) Read more...
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