Discover the Surprising Existence of This Ancient Brain Structure: What It Reveals About Our Biology

A recent scientific breakthrough has made it possible to extract proteins from preserved soft tissues, including human brains. This discovery opens up a treasure trove of biological information that has been hidden for ages. It could change how we understand evolution, diets, and even brain development over time.

Discovering Biological Treasures

Every living being is made up of proteins, which are essential for functions like heartbeat regulation and communication between brain cells. When an organism dies, these proteins usually break down quickly. However, preserved tissues can keep some proteins intact for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

Alexandra Morton-Hayward from the University of Oxford notes that preserved soft tissues can span up to half a billion years of history. These tissues contain over 75% of all human proteins.

Traditionally, researchers have focused on extracting proteins from bones and teeth, which provide only limited insights. While skin and hair have also been studied, they do not offer as much valuable data. In contrast, internal organs hold a richer biological story.

A New Approach with Urea

In a recent study, Morton-Hayward and her team successfully extracted proteins from human brains found in an archaeological site in Bristol, UK. The brains studied were up to 300 years old. From a total of 456 preserved samples, the researchers chose ten, each weighing around 50 milligrams, and tested various chemical methods to find the best one for protein extraction.

They discovered that urea, a common chemical found in urine, can break down brain cells while preserving the proteins. They used mass spectrometry to analyze the released proteins and achieved significant results—identifying 1,205 proteins, a remarkable feat for such studies.

Ragnheiður Diljá Ásmundsdóttir from the University of Copenhagen calls this study groundbreaking, as it sets the stage for future research.

What’s Next?

While the initial focus was on brain tissue, this method could also apply to other soft organs like the liver or intestines. These organs can contain important information about ancient diets and diseases.

There are many preserved samples in storage facilities worldwide that remain unexamined. With this new technique, scientists can reanalyze these collections to gain insights that were previously unattainable.

However, questions still arise regarding how long proteins can last. The oldest proteins retrieved so far are about 21 to 24 million years old, sourced from teeth in the Canadian High Arctic. Researchers are uncertain whether proteins can survive in tissues from much older times, like those from the Cambrian Period, which dates back between 539 and 487 million years ago.

Understanding Protein Decay

One challenge researchers face is understanding how proteins degrade over time. Morton-Hayward emphasizes the importance of this knowledge for reconstructing how the original proteins looked before they broke down.

Ásmundsdóttir pointed out that scientists still need to determine whether old proteins are indeed there but undiscovered or whether they simply don’t survive after a certain period.

This new method marks a significant advancement in evolutionary biology, giving scientists a closer look at how different species evolved, including our own. The potential to unlock hidden biological archives is immense, offering insights that could reshape our understanding of life on Earth.

For further information on the topic, you can check out this study which details the protein extraction methods used in this groundbreaking research.

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