When a vertebrate embryo develops, a group of cells self-organizes into the neural tube, eventually becoming the brain and the spinal cord. This involves specific signals, but how these signals are ...

Precursor cells in the embryonic neural tube are organized in a specific striped pattern which depends on the signals they receive (left). Lehr and colleagues recreated this pattern in a cell culture ...

Neural tube defects (NTDs) rank as the second most prevalent congenital malformation in humans, impacting the central nervous system development in approximately 1 in every 1,000 live births. Over 300 ...

Millions of neurons branch throughout our bodies, keeping them in close communication with our brains. This peripheral network begins to take shape long before birth, as the cells of a growing embryo ...

The quail is a small, unassuming bird that glides rather than flies and prefers to hide under bushes than to perch on top of a tree. And now, it’s also helping scientists understand serious birth ...

Bioengineering researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a soft, thin, stretchable bioelectronic device that can be implanted into a ...

A new genetic screening method allows researchers to efficiently modulate individual genes across entire tissues and provides new insights into human development. The research, published in eLife, is ...

Flour could be required to be fortified with folic acid to reduce birth defects in Ireland, under a proposal being considered ...