Tiny Worm Sheds Light on Giant Mystery About Neuron
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - 10:00
in Biology & Nature
Scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation studying neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans have found a gene, unc-16, that serves as a gatekeeper, restricting the flow of specific membrane-enclosed organelles from the cell body to the axon. Organelles clogging the axon could potentially interfere with neuronal signaling or cause the axon to degenerate, leading to neurodegenerative disorders.