Human brain cells in mice increase memory

            The cells that were transplanted were not the cells that people would normally think of when they though of memory.  These cells were not the neurons, but actually the glia.  Glia is one of the support cells in the brain that helps get rid of excess neurotransmitters,  feed the neurons, and basically keep the brain in one piece.  The cells transplanted into the mices' brains were glial progenitor cells.  These cells make more stem cells of that type to help the neurons and brain.  The scientist originally did this with mice that had a genetic disorder kind of like multiple sclerosis.  The human cells healed the mice so they lived a normal life span.  They also found out that the mice learned quicker.  They then looked deeper into this subject.

The green cells are the human cells that are helping out the mice brain cells (blue).

           The scientists tested three groups on how fast they learned how to solve mazes, tell an old object from a new one, and which sound precedes a mild electric shock.  The groups:  normal, mouse cell transplant, and human cell transplant, were subjected to the three tests.  The mice learned at their normal rates.  The only exception was the human cell transplant group.  They learned significantly faster than the other groups.  When the brains were disected, it was discovered that the human glial cells had completely pushed out the mices' cells.  The mices' memory had improved massively.

NOS themes:
1.  Science is collaborative.  The researchers worked together and with the group that did previous research.
2.  Science is based on evidence.  The researchers gathered evidence in the form of behavior notes and a disection.
3.  Importance of repeatability.  The researchers gave a very clear outline of how they did the experiment
4.  Role of curiosity.  The scientists only figured this out because they saw an effect that they didn't expect so they decided to look into it.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/348773/description/Mice_get_brain_boost_from_transplanted_human_tissue