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Two parallel neural ectoderm progenitors contribute to the developing brain

664 points · 258 comments · emigre

  1. itvision · · focus · HN ↗
    What a way to oversell the discovery.

    The reality is:

        * Different brain regions have different functions: ancient knowledge.
    * Different regions contain distinct cell types and molecular programs: also well established.
    * Anterior and posterior brain structures may trace back to fundamentally separate progenitor lineages that were independently specified very early in evolution and development: that's the interesting new result.
    The headline should have been: "Human forebrain and hindbrain arise from distinct embryonic progenitor lineages" - not that we have "two organs" in the brain.
    1. xg15 · · focus · HN ↗
      > "Human forebrain and hindbrain arise from distinct embryonic progenitor lineages"

      I'd have never clicked that headline nor understood why this finding is important.

      If you think the original headline is not "truthful" enough, at least do something like "Researchers found the reason why hindbrain cells cannot be grown in a lab and found a way to overcome it"

      > not that we have "two organs" in the brain.

      Depends what the definition of "organ" actually is. What speaks for different organs here is that the cells both have a different pathway from stem cells and have different evolutionary histories. That is different from other brain regions that may have separate functions but still evolved together.

      1. thaumasiotes · · focus · HN ↗
        > I'd have never clicked that headline nor understood why this finding is important.

        Why do you think it's important?

        1. xg15 · · focus · HN ↗
          You don't think it's important?
          1. thaumasiotes · · focus · HN ↗
            You stated that the current headline informs you why the result is important. Why is that? Surely, given that the information was communicated to you, you can share it with me?
            1. xg15 · · focus · HN ↗
              What I found important was this: "Researchers found the reason why hindbrain cells cannot be grown in a lab and found a way to overcome it"

              But that finding is a direct consecutive of the "cerebellum is a different organ" finding from the headline.

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