Dundee University experts make nervous system discovery
ByAndrew Argo
Two newborn neurons shedding their tip ends, or abscising.
Dundee university researchers have made a breakthrough in the understanding of the human nervous system.
They have discovered a new form of cell sub-division in the process that transmits signals to different parts of the body.
It is an important aspect of neuroscience and could also help to better understand conditions including cancer.
The new form of cell sub-division concerns neurons, which are vital to the development of the nervous system.
They are “born” in a particular place in the early nervous system and then migrate to the correct place to make functional neural structures.
A team led by Professor Kate Storey and Dr Raman Das in the College of Life Sciences at Dundee have identified a new process, apical abscission, which allows the detachment of new-born neurons from the neural tube ventricle freeing up the cells to migrate.
The researchers plan to extend the work to determine if the new mechanism also operates in other contexts including different regions of the brain, but will also address if it takes place in some cancers.
Dundee University experts make nervous system discovery
