Wednesday, November 21, 2007

A mutation named Magellan steers nerve cells off course

Source: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Date: November 21, 2007

Summary;

Newly launched nerve cells in a growing embryo must chart their course to distant destinations, and many of the means they use to navigate have yet to surface. In a study published in the current issue of the journal Neuron, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have recovered a key signal that guides motor neurons – the nascent cells that extend from the spinal cord and must find their way down the length of limbs such as arms, wings and legs.