Comb Jellies May Hold The Secret To Treat Alzheimer's And Parkinson's Disease
Scientists Reveal Comb Jellies May Hold The Secret To Treat Alzheimer's And Parkinson's Disease
Scientists from Florida, US have discovered that comb jellies which are simple sea animals posses new type of brain development which can be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson's. Leonid Moroz is a researcher at the University of Florida and he has found that there is more just a single way through which the brain developes.
He studied comb jellies which are different from the common jellyfish and he foun that the molecular make-up of comb jellies and the manner in which they develop are complex and different. This involves neural transmitters and genes.
Traditional scientific reasoning has provides that simple nerve nets evolve a long way till human complexity levels. What is distinctive is that the route taken by the comb jellies and the neurochemical language which is used is not observed in any other animals.
Other animals share the same chemical language in their brains. Comb jellies have completely different language compared to other animals. Dopamine which controls the brain activity levels is not used by comb jellies at all. The brain of comb jellies can be regenerated in less than 4 days. In a study conducted involving this species of jellies, it was found that the brain was regenerated 4 times. It is now known that neural systems can be constructed differently according to the studies conducted by the Florida researchers. Moroz stated that degenerative diseases can be treated for stalling progression. However, they cannot be reversed.
The study released by researchers at Florida found that comb jellies have regenerative nervous systems that differ from other animals on earth. This could lead to innovative methods for treating Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The scientists have also found that comb jellies also called as “aliens of the sea” took a different route in genomic evolution from other animals in the world. This route has caused them to be able to have abilities such as swift regeneration of body parts or repairing elementary brain.
The regeneration of neural tissue is astounding considering that humans cannot repair neural tissue or recreate lost tissue. It is not surprising that neurobiologists and medical researchers are now keen to know how comb jellies can manage this feat. The team of researchers led by Moroz peaced together the evidence which is completely contrary to the fundamental beliefs of evolutionary biology that sea sponges are the oldest branch of the animal genealogy. Evidence found that comb jellies are now the oldest animals in existence. Evidence has also found that comb jellies use different pathways to communicate rather than relying on neurotransmitters.
These findings are an important break for medical researchers who are studying neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. This is because the main problem in treating these diseases are that the nervous tissues are the only ones that cannot be repaired in humans. If scientists can understand how comb jellies undergo the development of their nervous system, they may be able to cure irreversible neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Comb jellies are shaped like tinty balls and they propel themselves using specialised hairs and capture prey using tentacles. In the worlds of Moroz, “they are aliens who have come to earth”. With so many people eager to know about extra-terrestrial life on other planets, it would be quite interesting to know more about the aliens on earth too.
