New cache of fresh neurons found in human brains - health - 20 February 2014 - New Scientist

New cache of fresh neurons found in human brains - health - 20 February 2014 - New Scientist

uclaneuroscience:

Brain-cell regeneration has been found in a new location in our brains – the new cells may one day be used to treat brain diseases or help stroke

The procedure they used to find these regenerative neuron pools is clever.

“To reveal the new brain cells, the team exploited the fact that there have been varying levels of a radioactive isotope of carbon – carbon-14 – in the atmosphere since nuclear bomb tests during the cold war. This means that the year of creation of many cells in the body can be found by measuring the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in its DNA. Analysis of 30 donated brains revealed which brain cells had been born during the lifetimes of the donors.”