Oxford Team Explains 4,400 Ancient Brains via Low-Oxygen Protein Crosslinking
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · Aug 4
Oxford Team Explains 4,400 Ancient Brains via Low-Oxygen Protein Crosslinking
2 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Aug 4
Summary
More than 4,400 preserved human brains found across 12,000 years may survive because decay itself can harden brain proteins, Oxford-led research reported in the Journal of Proteome Research.
Six months of mouse-burial experiments and 1.26 million protein decay trajectories showed oxygen levels become decisive after a few weeks: wet, hypoxic settings favored tough, insoluble protein aggregates instead of full breakdown.
Free-radical chemistry appears to drive the split, with abundant oxygen accelerating widespread protein destruction, while low oxygen leaves intermediates to crosslink nearby proteins and lock tissue into decay-resistant masses.
One-third of archaeological brains are found without other soft tissue, often in waterlogged graves, riverbeds, caves or shipwrecks; researchers say the brain's metal-rich chemistry and the skull's barrier may make it uniquely preservable.
The team said the preserved peptides resemble molecular patterns seen in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, raising the prospect that ancient brains could inform medical research as well as archaeology.