To understand how memories are formed and maintained, neuroscientists travel far beyond the cell body in search of answers.

Animals with human cells could provide donor organs or help us understand neuropsychiatric disorders.

FEATUREThe Ecology of Tumors Stem cells for brain cancer BY PETER B. DIRKSNeural stem cell biology took off in 1992 when Brent Reynolds and Samuel Weiss, working at the University of Calgary, discovered that culturing mammalian brain cells in serum-free conditions (in EGF and bFGF), yielded clonally derived colonies of undifferentiated neural cells (neurospheres). This culture system demonstrated that cells within these colonies showed cardinal pr

Noncoding RNAs are proving to be critical players in the evolution of brain anatomy and cognitive complexity.

By Karen Hopkin Take Two Antibodies… Martin Raff has used antibodies to examine membranes, probe immune cells, and shine a light on nervous system function. But he doesn’t believe in waiting for the full story before publishing. Martin C. Raff Medical Research Council Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London. F1000: Joint Head of Faculty, Neuroscience © Ben Mostyn It was the Vietnam War that led Martin Raff to a

By Jeffrey M. Perkel Surpassing the Law of Averages How to expose the behaviors of genes, RNA, proteins, and metabolites in single cells. By necessity or convenience, almost everything we know about biochemistry and molecular biology derives from bulk behavior: From gene regulation to Michaelis-Menten kinetics, we understand biology in terms of what the “average” cell in a population does. But, as Jonathan Weissman of the University of Califo

Through a series of sustained collaborations, Joshua Sanes has deciphered the molecular synergy that guides synapse formation.

Ron Vale has spent a career studying how molecular motors transport cargo within cells. He’s also developed tools to help scientists communicate their findings.

Immune-like cells in the central nervous system are now recognized as key participants in the creation and maintenance of persistent pain.

Glial cells were once considered neurons’ supporting actors, but new methods and model organisms are revealing their true importance in brain function.