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Eye Opening
01 October 2017

Eye Opening

Glial cells are the backing singers of the brain; essential for a perfect performance, but rarely given the credit they deserve. Neurons, frantically firing information from place to place, get all the glory but account for less than half of the brain’s volume. Glial cells provide support and insulation around neurons, but have had far less attention from researchers. To learn more about their role in early development, a team looked at a fruit fly’s visual system. For the system (pictured, with the retina, top, linking to the brain’s optic lobe, below) to develop, neuron growth in different areas must be perfectly balanced. Researchers found that this careful coordination relies on signals couriered by glial cells that ensure the right types of neurons develop in the right time and place (pink). And if this mechanism is present in adult cells, it could have implications for new stem-cell therapy development.

Written by Anthony Lewis

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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