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Having the opportunity to study the nervous system of a whale is very difficult. However, a group of scientists managed to extract an eye on a cetacean stranded in Spain and then save living neurons from its retina.
Researcher Elena Vecino extracted the eye of the whale on the beach of Sopela, Bizkaia (Spain), before being removed from the beach. SINC Agencia – Xabier Bañuelos / Ambar Elkartea
A team of scientists led by Elena Vecino, a professor of cell biology and histology at the University of the Basque Country (Spain), rescued live neurons from the retina of a whale, a part of central nervous system, and cultivated and observed them. growth (Read "Using plastic bags to buy fruits and vegetables seems crazy to me")
"This is a unique opportunity." Until now, explains Elena Vecino, "general anatomical studies have been conducted, but the retina and its neuronal cells, the optic nerve or the eyelid of the whale do not. have not been observed in detail. "The cultured neurons regenerate." These adult retinal ganglion cells grow and emit axons in our laboratory, expert in culturing this type of cell. "(Read A Colombian Garden Inscribed On the list of world heritage of universities)
In addition to observing the growth of neurons, the whale's eye opens up a range of possibilities to learn about the functioning of other species, the control of intraocular pressure, which is one of the causes of glaucoma, the functioning of the optic nerve and the eyelid. And it's even possible to get clues about biomarkers related to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease. (Read NASA data show that India and China are leading the greening of the Earth)
The neighbor used about ten minutes to extract the eye of the whale on Sopela beach, but it took an hour to dissect it with the help of members of the Ophthalmic Experimental Biology Research Group (GOBE) Noelia Rurafa , Xandra Pereiro and Miguel de la Fuente.
"It was a surprise, we did not expect to find the mbad of bone cartilage protecting the eyeball," he says. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the eye weighs almost a kilo.
The pressure of the depths
The research group suspects that the protective structure of the eyeball obeys evolutionary adaptation to the depths. "This peculiarity may be due to the fact that the whale, when submerged at 300 meters under the sea, bears high pressure and is a means of protecting the eye and, consequently, the retina. That's why we think your study will help us learn more about glaucoma.After all, this condition is caused by an increase in intraocular pressure, "he says.
Glaucoma is the main line of research developed by the group, but chance has opened the door to a detailed badysis of the optic nerve of the whale. As the scientist explains, "fish can regenerate their optic nerve when they are damaged." In the evolutionary process, mammals have lost their ability to regenerate, and we now have the opportunity to know what is happening. pbades in the case of these mammals living in the sea. "
In addition, it is possible to study the internal and external eyelid, its anatomy and its glands.
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