A New Zealand genetics scientist has made a pioneering discovery that could help heal babies born with brain damage.
International experts led by Otago University paediatric genetics professor Stephen Robertson have discovered a key piece of information about how the brain of the foetus grows while in the uterus.
The discovery is the result of five years of research, now published in the journal Nature Genetics.
The major achievement is the discovery of a language that two key genes use to conduct brain development, which Professor Robertson describes as the "radio signal" of how neural stem cells talk to each other.
He says the hope is that it will shed light on how these cells can be nudged into action to compensate for neurological disorders at birth and repair a damaged brain.
