Unique Brain Signal Just Discovered. And It Might Make Us 'Human'

Cells nestled in the outermost layers of the human brain generate a special kind of electrical signal that might grant them an extra boost of computing power, new research suggests. What's more, this signal may be unique to humans -- and may explain our unique intelligence, according to the study authors. Brain cells, or neurons, link up through long, branching wires and shuttle messages along these cables to communicate with each other. Each neuron has both an outgoing wire, called an axon, and a wire that receives incoming messages, known as a dendrite. The dendrite passes on information to the rest of the neuron through bursts of electrical activity.