(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- New medical research conducted in Chicago is focusing on brain activity after death, and the results may surprise you.
Some brain cells, referred to as “zombie genes,” actually increase activity — some significantly — in the hours after death, CBS News’ Jim Krasula reports.
That’s the amazing finding from researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The growing genes were specific to a certain type of brain cell — inflammatory cells called glial cells. They sprout armlike appendages for several hours after death.
“That glial cells enlarge after death isn’t too surprising given that they are inflammatory and their job is to clean things up after brain injuries like oxygen deprivation or stroke,” said Dr. Jeffrey Loeb, head of neurology and rehabilitation at the UIC College of Medicine.
The brain-cell activity was monitored in tissue that was removed from living patients during surgery, according to UIC. It is referred to as a “simulated death experiment.”
The study appeared in the journal Scientific Reports.
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