Missed Connections

Helping to develop our eyes and ears, specialist hair cells form the early link between our senses and the outside world. Here, scientists examine bundles of zebrafish hair cells (artificially highlighted in green), to see how they form early synapses – junctions that connect up with the rest of the developing nervous system. They know the process depends on chemical structures called ’ribbons’ (pink). Exactly how is a little mysterious, but there are clues. Treating the cells with drugs which disrupt microtubules – like a tiny rail network which transport chemical cargos around tissues, leaves more ribbons 'stranded' in the hair cells (bottom row compared to top). Researchers believe ribbon cells normally use microtubules to travel to the sites of new synapses during development and looking for similarities in human tissues may help to understand several developmental disorders.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Saman Hussain and colleagues
• Section on Sensory Cell Development and Function, National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, Bethesda, MD, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, July 2025