Beautiful Science

Neurons showing up green and red under the microscope with the help of immunostaining - a dyeing process which helps researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School, National Neuroscience Institute and A*Star's Genome Institute of Singapore identify the nerve cells. The team led by Duke-NUS assistant professor Shawn Je has found a new, faster method to produce a type of neuron called GABAergic neurons (GNs) using human stem cells. While GNs make up only 20 per cent of the human brain, their dysfunction has been linked to neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. There are plans to commercialise the process, but the team is looking at making the process more effective first.