New Brain Cell Has Unique Shape, Behavior, Gene Signature

Two research teams—one focused on gene expression, the other on cell shape and behavior—converged on a previously unknown type of brain cell. Because it resembles a rose deprived of its petals, the newly discovered brain cell has been called the “rosehip neuron.” Intriguingly, it may be unique to human brains, or at least primate brains, for nothing like it has ever been seen in rodents.The rosehip neuron’s absence from rodents may help explain why mouse and rat mod