Scientists find nerve cell activity drains stem cell pool in developing brain
Friday, November 5, 2010 - 09:50
in Biology & Nature
As babies grow, their brain cells develop from a pool of stem cells - some stem cells continuously divide, replenishing the pool, whereas others morph into mature functioning nerve cells. Now researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that as the newly formed nerve cells start firing electrical signals, this activity slows down stem cell division, emptying out the stem cell pool in favour of nerve cell formation...