Atomic Bombs Help Solve Brain Mystery 59
sciencehabit writes "The mushroom clouds produced by more than 500 nuclear bomb tests during the Cold War may have had a silver lining, after all. More than 50 years later, scientists have found a way to use radioactive carbon isotopes released into the atmosphere by nuclear testing to settle a long-standing debate in neuroscience: Does the adult human brain produce new neurons? After working to hone their technique for more than a decade, the researchers report that a small region of the human brain involved in memory makes new neurons throughout our lives — a continuous process of self-renewal that may aid learning."
Re:Interesting... (Score:4, Interesting)
Actually I posted too fast. I went back and looked at what I read (just a few nights ago, by chance), and the book does not include the new result. It just said that the isotope ratios observed in the brain confirm the conventional view that neurons aren't being created. TFA reports that a small region of the brain has been found that does not conform to the conventional view.
One more textbook becomes outdated...