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The motor cortex controls the voluntary movement of muscles. It remains largely unclear why its electrical or magnetic stimulation can alleviate therapy-resistant chronic pain—albeit unreliably. An interdisciplinary research group at the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg (MFHD) has now tracked down the underlying mechanisms and nerve pathways in mice.

The scientists showed that certain nerve pathways of the motor cerebral cortex are indirectly connected to the emotion centers in the brain, process both -related information and emotions by direct activation, and thus reduce the sensation of pain. Consequently, the team not only defines a new brain circuit for neurostimulation in pain therapy, but also brings the brain’s own reward system into focus as a starting point for future treatments. The results are now published in the journal Science.

The research was conducted within the framework of CRC1158 “From Nociception to Chronic Pain,” whose spokesperson is Professor Dr. Rohini Kuner, Director of the Institute of Pharmacology at the MFHD.

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Mini brains grown in a lab from stem cells spontaneously developed rudimentary eye structures, scientists reported in a fascinating 2021 paper.

On tiny, human-derived brain organoids grown in dishes, two bilaterally symmetrical optic cups were seen to grow, mirroring the development of eye structures in human embryos. This incredible result could help us to better understand the process of eye differentiation and development, as well as eye diseases.

“Our work highlights the remarkable ability of brain organoids to generate primitive sensory structures that are light sensitive and harbor cell types similar to those found in the body,” said neuroscientist Jay Gopalakrishnan of University Hospital Düsseldorf in Germany in a 2021 statement.

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Tardigrades have competition in the realm of microscopic and incredibly sturdy beasties. Like tardigrades, Bdelloid rotifers can also survive drying, freezing, starving, and even low-oxygen conditions. Now, scientists report that they revived some of these rotifers after having been frozen in Siberian permafrost for at least 24,000 years.

The incredible observations are reported in the journal Current Biology. The researchers took samples of permafrost about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) deep and slowly warmed the sample, which led to the resurrection of several microscopic organisms including these tiny little animals.

“Our report is the hardest proof as of today that multicellular animals could withstand tens of thousands of years in cryptobiosis, the state of almost completely arrested metabolism,” co-author Stas Malavin of the Soil Cryology Laboratory at the Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science in Pushchino, Russia, said in a statement.

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Complex life on Earth is generally thought to have appeared at least 1.75 billion years ago. But a new study suggests there may have been an earlier period where complex life could have evolved, before disappearing and then reappearing again.

The theory was put forward by a study led by the University of Washington, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They describe how isotopic ratios in the element selenium in sedimentary rocks suggest a high presence of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere between 2 and 2.4 billion years ago.

The suggestion is that for this relatively brief period in Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history, conditions may have been favorable for complex life. Previously, it had been thought that oxygen on Earth went through a period of none, then some, then a lot, when eukaryotes – animals, plants, fungi, and protists – came into existence. But this research suggests there was a spike before “none” and that it dropped down again.

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