Did you know that the neurons in your body behave similarly to the cells of a fly? Because that's what researchers from New York University reported in their most recent studies, published in the scientific journal Nature.
Neurons are brain cells that have specialized to form neural networks with transformations in their shapes, functions and connectivity with other cells. From that study, the scientists say they were able to examine patterns of cell development and even the evolutionary order of neurons.
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In this article, we will discuss the similarities between the nervous system of the flies studied by the researchers and how this discovery can be beneficial in the future. If you are curious about the evolution of science or want to know a little more about your own body, read on.
Keep reading: Did you know that your brain uses 20% of your body's energy daily?
Similarity between fly and human cells
It is true that the brain is an extremely complex organ and not everything is known about it. As for neurons, science had already discovered the existence of different types of these cells, which perform different functions in the human body.
New York University researchers observed the cells of a well-known insect: the fruit fly (Drosophila) during this study. To do so, they gathered mRNA sequences from just over 50,000 cells and compared their behavior in relation to human cells.
After that, they focused their attention on neural stem cells, which are responsible for organizing cell development into specific functional units. This system allows the transformation of stem cells into neurons during the early stages of life.
Although other studies have already observed the similarity between fly and human cells in the visual nervous field, this new study is extremely important. That's because research in the scientific journal Nature was able to find, inside the cells of fruit flies, all types of brain neurons and how they behave.
With this, in the near future, it will be possible to observe and study insect cells more deeply to try to clarify doubts about the human brain.