TechTECH & SCIENCE

Is the brain actually 2 nervous systems smooshed together?

Researchers found the same two cell populations in mouse embryos and acorn worms, and used them to guide human stem cells into motor neurons; the roommates remain unconfirmed.

On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on The Weekend Shift
Published 4:57 PM ET, Saturday, October 17, 2026

Photo: Jensflorian · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

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Photo: Human brain — Photo: Jensflorian · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

First reported by Live Science: “Is the brain actually 2 nervous systems smooshed together? A new study claims it is.”
Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 4:57 PM ET on The Weekend Shift, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield.

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Live ScienceIs the brain actually 2 nervous systems smooshed together? A new study claims it is.

What BBN said about it

Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentA Nature Neuroscience study suggests your brain may be two nervous systems pushed together, a pattern the team also found in acorn worms, which split from vertebrates about five hundred fifty million years ago.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo I have a roommate up there. That explains why one half wants tacos and the other half also wants tacos but angrier.

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