Faster path to lab-made neurons

A team of scientists led by Asst Prof Shawn Je from the Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School, has found a way to produce a type of neuron called GABAergic neurons (GNs) in the lab, two to three times faster than conventional methods by using human stem cells. Asst Prof Je’s team is also studying the mechanism of GNs in patients with autism and schizophrenia so that they can screen for potential drug targets to treat the disorders.

• The Straits Times, 23 September 2016, Science, pB12