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

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.

Millions of neurons branch throughout our bodies, keeping them in close communication with our brains. This peripheral ...

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 ...

When do peripheral nerves develop? Researchers used "mosaic barcodes" to prove that neural crest cells commit to their ...

About 300,000 to 400,000 fetuses per year from mothers with diabetes develop neural tube defects -- when the tissue that eventually forms the brain and spinal cord fails to form properly -- which can ...

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 project at University College London (UCL) and the University of Padua has created mechanical force sensors directly in the developing brains and spinal cords of chicken embryos. Published in Nature ...

Anencephaly occurs when an infant is born without parts of their brain and skull. It is a severe congenital anomaly, which means that a baby develops anencephaly in the womb. Anencephaly is a ...

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . One study found a reduced risk for neural tube defects when folic acid was used before and during pregnancy. The ...