Scientists from Illinois University in Chicago, exploring human cerebral tissue, discovered an unusual phenomenon. It is believed that after death, all biological processes in the body stop. But, as observations showed, some genes “come to life” and provoke the rapid growth of cells, reports Scientific Reports.
Scientists have assembled cerebral samples seized during surgical operations, and for some time they left at rest. It imitated the posthumous interval and death. After some time, they analyzed the expression of genes, and it turned out that in some cells after death it even increases.
These “zombies” were specific for one type of cells – glial, or inflammatory. For many hours after death, these cells increased and germinated with long, similar to the tentacles by the process. Activity reached a peak about 12 hours after “death.”
Scientists explained that this fact has an explanation. The function of glial cells is to conduct “cleaning” after the injuries of the brain, for example, oxygen starvation or stroke.
Scientists often explore the posthumous samples of brain tissues to find methods of treatment and potential medicines from such disorders, such as autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. But until recently, they did not take into account the posthumous expression of genes, and therefore the results obtained by them could be incorrect.
“Most studies assume that everything in the brain stops when the heart stops fighting, but this is not the case. Our results will be necessary to interpret the studies of the tissues of the human brain. We have just not yet determined these changes,” the authors emphasized scientific work.