New light shed on nerve cell growth

New light has been shed on the complex processes of nerve cell growth, showing that a particular protein plays a far more sophisticated role in neuron development than previously thought. Specifically, the research sheds light on the role of RPM-1 in the development of axons or nerve fibers -- the elongated projections of nerve cells that transmit electrical impulses away from the neuron via synapses. Some axons are quite long; in the sciatic nerve, axons run from the base of the spine to the bi...