Like a plug and a socket, a nerve and a muscle fiber mesh at the neuromuscular junction. New work by Nishimune et al published in the Journal of Cell Biology reveals that an extracellular matrix ...

After nerve injury, the protein complex mTORC1 takes over an important function in skeletal muscle to maintain the neuromuscular junction, the synapse between the nerve and muscle fiber. Researchers ...

The muscle transmembrane protein Vangl2 helps organize the development and maintenance of connections between muscles and motor neurons, a study concludes. A skeletal muscle isn’t much use without a ...

A synthetic optoelectronic synapse between an artificial neuron and muscle. (Courtesy: Yeongjun Lee) Researchers in Korea and the US have engineered a light-activated synthetic synapse that enables an ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard University researchers have uncovered a mechanism through which caloric restriction and exercise delay some of the debilitating effects of aging by rejuvenating connections ...

Synaptic connections are made and broken in an activity-dependent manner in diverse regions of the nervous system. However, whether activity is strictly necessary for synapse elimination has not been ...

The neuromuscular junction - where nerves and muscle fibers meet - is an essential synapse for muscle contraction and movement. Improper function of these junctions can lead to the development of ...

A discovery could pave the way for future studies aimed at developing solutions to ALS and other vexing neuromuscular diseases. While the brain is composed of two types of cells, glia tend to receive ...

LA JOLLA, CA--Among stem cell biologists there are few better-known proteins than nestin, whose very presence in an immature cell identifies it as a "stem cell," such as a neural stem cell. As helpful ...