In about one out of every 1,000 pregnancies, the neural tube, a key nervous system structure, fails to close properly.

The quail is a small, unassuming bird that glides rather than flies and prefers to hide under bushes than to perch on top of ...

How does the neural tube close? A new study uses physics-based modeling to reveal the actin "purse-string" mechanism and cellular coordination that prevents spina bifida.

Neural tube defects, such as Spina bifida, are one of the leading congenital disorders (affecting about one in 1,000 live births worldwide) and are associated with the junctional neurulation. Though ...

Their findings, recently reported in the journal Nature, overturn longstanding assumptions in developmental biology and could change the way scientists think about treatments for a variety of ...

Anencephaly is a serious neural tube condition that affects a baby’s brain and skull development. It happens very early in ...

Neurodevelopment involves the brain's formation of systems responsible for learning, memory, social skills, and overall function. Critical neurodevelopmental processes such as neurogenesis, synaptic ...

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 ...

Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital imaged cellular projections called cytonemes that transfer signals across long distances during development St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ...

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 ...