Prickle Power

A human being develops from an embryo in delicate stages. The nervous system starts as a careful folded tissue, bringing two edges of together to form a tube, like pastry around a sausage roll (although ~100 times smaller). Sealing the gap is essential to normal development, with unsealed neural tubes leading to developmental conditions like spina bifida. Here, researchers studying similar quail embryos watch under a high-powered microscope as the healthy neural tube on the left closes over, with cells from both sides moving into the space to form a junction (artificially stained in green and pink). The embryo on the right lacks a protein called PRICKLE 1, which researchers believe affects how cells move into the gap and stick together. These clues may suggest ways to help PRICKLE 1 do its job and so protect developing embryos and children from life-altering conditions.

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.

Website

• Video from work by Jian Xiong Wang and colleagues
• Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
• Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, April 2026