The blob-like sea creatures could hold the keys to the origins of our nervous systems, literally – and they contain cells that look a little bit like our neurons.
See, tiny blobs of sand in the water?
That’s right, it’s time to get down to brass tacks.
A new study looks at ancient sea creatures called placozoans and finds that they have certain specialized peptidergic cells that are very much like our sensory nerve cells.
This is good news, because it means we’re about 800 million years old already.
Placozoans don’t have actual bodies, but they do have special kind of nerve cells that coordinate movement and feeding.
They also don’t conduct electricity, which is essential for the function of nervous systems like ours.
But they do communicate via chemical messengers called neuropeptides.
Nice.
Next, the authors check out this guy Dr. Xavier Garu-Bové.
He’s got a paper
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