Scientists have discovered that neural stem cells (NSCs) receive constant feedback from their daughter cells, influencing whether they remain dormant or activate to form new neurons and glia.

"A solution to that problem would be to start with the embryonic stem cell, because [it] can essentially be expanded in the lab without limit," says McKay. "If you could get the right kind of dopamine ...

To automatize the analysis of these cells, the researchers teamed up with the Japanese company Nikon that developed a specialized software to track neuron survival in cultures over time ...