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Nervous system

The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and initiates actions.

Note: The above text is excerpted from the Wikipedia article "Nervous system", which has been released under the GNU Free Documentation License.

For more information, see the following related content on ScienceDaily:

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Realtime Monitoring With a Wearable Device Reveals IBS-Related Changes

Jan. 12, 2023 — A research group recorded the autonomic nervous system activity in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and healthy subjects using a wearable device and a proprietary smartphone application ...

New Insights Into How the 'First Brain' Works in the Gut

Aug. 15, 2021 — New research explains how the nervous system in the gut, known as the enteric nervous system (ENS) causes propulsion along the gut, highlighting how similar it behaves to other neural networks in the ...

Scientists Pinpoint Our Most Distant Animal Relatives

Mar. 31, 2021 — Scientists believe they have pinpointed our most distant animal relative in the tree of life and, in doing so, have resolved an ongoing debate. Their work finds strong evidence that sponges - not ...

Scientists Paint Multicolor Atlas of the Brain

Jan. 8, 2021 — Scientists have engineered a coloring technique, known as NeuroPAL (a Neuronal Polychromatic Atlas of Landmarks), which makes it possible to identify every single neuron in the brain of a ...

Revealing the Logic of the Body’s ‘second Brain’

Oct. 1, 2021 — Researchers have made a surprising discovery about the human gut's enteric nervous system that itself is filled with surprising facts. For starters, there's the fact that this 'second ...

Zebrafish Could Shed Light Into the Mysteries of the Human Spinal Cord and Its Influence on Our Body

Oct. 12, 2021 — Researchers believe zebrafish may provide clues to understanding how the human nervous system develops since this fish experiences new movements similarly to how babies do after birth. To understand ...

Into the Brain of Comb Jellies: Scientists Explore the Evolution of Neurons

Aug. 8, 2022 — A new study into the neurons found in the earliest-diverging animal lineages reveals key clues about the form of the most ancestral nervous system, and how neurons first ...

Antibiotics Given in Infancy May Have Adverse Impact on Adult Gut Health

Sep. 9, 2022 — Preterm and low birth weight babies are routinely given antibiotics to prevent, not just treat, infections, which they have a high risk of developing. A new study has found that early life exposure ...

BirdBot Is Energy-Efficient Thanks to Nature as a Model

Mar. 16, 2022 — A team of scientists has constructed a robot leg that, like its natural model, is very energy efficient. BirdBot benefits from a foot-leg coupling through a network of muscles and tendons that ...

Unique Features of Octopus Create 'an Entirely New Way of Designing a Nervous System'

Nov. 28, 2022 — A new study on the intramuscular nerve cords of octopuses reveals that they are connected in a unique and unexpected geometric ...

Plants & Animals News

December 3, 2023

Twin Research Indicates That a Vegan Diet Improves Cardiovascular Health

Nov. 30, 2023 — A recent trial of identical twins comparing vegan and omnivore diets found that a vegan diet improves overall cardiovascular ...

Brittle Stars Can Learn Just Fine -- Even Without a Brain

Nov. 29, 2023 — We humans are fixated on big brains as a proxy for smarts. But headless animals called brittle stars have no brains at all and still manage to learn through experience, new research reveals. These shy marine creatures have no brain to speak of -- ...

Evolution of Taste: Early Sharks Were Able to Perceive Bitter Substances

Nov. 13, 2023 — New genetic data show that humans and sharks share bitter taste receptors, even though their evolutionary pathways separated nearly 500 million years ...

Found at Last: Bizarre, Egg-Laying Mammal Finally Rediscovered After 60 Years

Nov. 9, 2023 — A long-beaked echidna named after Sir David Attenborough and last seen by scientists in 1961 has been photographed for the first time in an Indonesian tropical forest. An international team of ...

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The Waxy Surface Protecting Plants Might Hold the Key to Developing Stronger Crops

Nov. 30, 2023 — Researchers have discovered that the waxy protective barrier around plants might play a role in sending chemical signals to other plants and ...

Armed to the Hilt: Study Solves Mystery Behind Bacteria's Extensive Weaponry

Nov. 30, 2023 — A new study tackles the mystery of why bacteria often carry diverse ranges of weapons. The findings show that different weapons are best suited to ...

Public Gardens Contribute to Invasives Problem

Dec. 1, 2023 — Some nonnative plants cultivated in public gardens or arboretums are escaping to become invasive in wild ...

Unlocking the Secret Strength of Marine Mussels

Dec. 1, 2023 — How do you create strong, yet quick-release connections between living and non-living tissues? This is a question that continues to puzzle bioengineers who aim to create materials that bond together ...

How Does Neonatal Listeriosis Impact Children's Health?

Dec. 1, 2023 — Maternal-fetal listeriosis is a severe disease that can lead to miscarriage, premature birth or serious neonatal infection. But what are the long-term consequences of neonatal listeriosis on the ...

Pathogens Use Force to Breach Immune Defenses, Study Finds

Dec. 1, 2023 — New research has revealed a previously unknown process through which pathogens are able to defeat a cell's defense mechanisms with physical force. The discovery represents a potential game-changer in ...

Harnessing the Power of a Parasite That Can Stop Pain

Nov. 30, 2023 — For the first time, scientists have begun to figure out why the disfiguring skin lesions caused by cutaneous leishmaniasis don't ...

Researchers Have Taught an Algorithm to 'Taste'

Dec. 1, 2023 — Incorporating human tastes into artificial intelligence makes it easier for wine buyers thirsting for the right wine. Researchers have shown that AI can accurately predict individual wine ...

Study Identifies Key Algae Species Helping Soft Corals Survive Warming Oceans

Nov. 30, 2023 — During a two-year survey of soft corals in the Florida Keys, scientists identified three species of octocorals that have survived heat waves. ...

Genomic Study Sheds Light on How Carnivorous Asian Pitcher Plants Acquired Signature Insect Trap

Nov. 30, 2023 — Scientists sequenced the genome of the East Asian pitcher plant, Nepenthes gracilis, a species of carnivorous plant related to Venus flytraps, as ...