A 2,600 - year - former human brain is a curiosity to behold . DubbedHeslington Brainfor where it was unearthed in England in 2008 , it is one of the old naturally preserved brains ever find in Europe and Asia . It is an queerness to be certain : human brains consist of 80 percent water and neural tissue typically cheapen rapidly after end – but not so for this Iron Age mankind .
The brain was found inside a skull tossed into a pit dated to between 482 and 673 BCE and probably belong to a man in his thirties . Previous examination found fractures in the neck vertebra , evoke he died by hanging . It appears his head was then slice off with a lean - bladed knife and his blood drain .
" The saving of this human brain tissue paper remains a secret in panorama of decomposition and autolysis starts within minutes after death , " save the team in theJournal of the Royal Society Interface . They summate that such preservation " of human nous proteins at ambient temperature should not be possible for millennium in free nature . "
To deepen the mystery , open wounds often hasten the rate of putrefaction , rather than slow the disintegration process . However , a fleet burial into a pit of exquisitely - grained wet sediment may have reduced transmission and slowed vector decomposition , remark the researchers . If the footing temperature was just a few degree above freeze , it would have taken a week before the first signs of putrefaction occur . No sign of artificial preservation proficiency such as smoking or embalming were found .
To further unpick the mystery of the Heslington nous , a team led by neurologist Dr Axel Petzold from University College London had to unfold its protein – a process that took a year to perform . The squad allow both the Iron age brain and a modern one to decompose over the form of an entire year to see how long it took for their proteins to stretch out . The modern brain dissolved but the Heslington ’s intermediate filaments , a shape of connective anatomical structure , did n’t degrade much in the face of peptidase distinctive after dying . Instead , protein aggregates helped to increase morphologic wholeness and thus preservation .
" The human brain is in particular motive of geomorphological stability because the cardinal component , neurons and axone do not normally regenerate , " the teamwrite , add that " the power to form protein aggregate is thought to be relevant for the progression of neurodegeneration . "
However , much remains puzzling . Why the filaments reacted in this way is nameless . It ’s potential some sort of raw preservation compound is aid the mental process . “ The data suggest that the proteolytic enzyme of the ancient psyche might have been inhibited by an unknown chemical compound which had diffused from the exterior of the wit to the deeper structure , " write the squad .
" There was no grounds for pathological prion proteins in the ancient brain tissue using nation - of - the nontextual matter methods . The quality of the DNA was too downhearted to tolerate for screening of other human diseases of pathologic protein collection or neurodegeneration . These data are consistent with the notion that desoxyribonucleic acid demean about 10 sentence faster than protein . "
Further exploration could hold implications for neurodegenerative disease in which protein aggregates are front and mall , such as Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease or Alzheimer ’s disease . In this way , the dead military personnel ’s brain may help extend the life sentence of others 2,600 years post - mortem .
