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Sponge cells hint at origins of nervous system

Synapse genes help cells to communicate in sponge’s digestive chambers.
  1. Max Kozlov
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Sponges are simple creatures, yet they are expert filter feeders, straining tens of thousands of litres of water through their bodies every day to collect their food. Their mastery of this complex behaviour is all the more remarkable because they have no brain, nor even a single neuron to their name.

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Nature 599, 193 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03015-2

References

  1. Musser, J. et al. Science https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abj2949 (2021).

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  3. Burkhardt, P. & Sprecher, S. G. BioEssays 39, 1700024 (2017).

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