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

The quail is a small, unassuming bird that glides rather than flies and prefers to hide under bushes than to perch on top of ...

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.

Junctional neural tube defect caused by Prickle1 disruption as seen using advanced imaging.(Photo credit: Dr Jian Xiong Wang ...

In the human embryo, the neural tube forms between the 22nd and 26th day of pregnancy. Later, the brain and spinal cord will develop from this tube. The neural tube forms when an elongated flat tissue ...

A scientific breakthrough that could lead to the eradication of deadly neural tube defects in unborn babies has been ...

Millions of neurons branch throughout our bodies, keeping them in close communication with our brains. This peripheral network begins to take shape long before birth, as the cells of a growing embryo ...

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 ...