During both development and regeneration, the survival of neurones and the growth of axons are controlled by inherent neuronal properties, conditions in the axonal environment, and the establishment of appropriately timed and specific functional contacts. To study the effects of extrinsic influences on the survival, growth and connectivity of axotomized neurones in the mature mammalian CNS, we replaced the optic nerve in adult rats with segments of autologous peripheral nerve (PN) and used morphometric techniques, neuroanatomical tracer substances and immunological cell markers to examine retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), their axons in the PN grafts and their terminals in the superior colliculi (SC) of these animals. We observed that: (1) the survival of axotomized RGCs was enhanced by the PN grafts; (2) in the PN-grafted eyes, approximately 20% of the surviving RGCs regrew their axons into the grafts and (3) some of the RGC axons that regenerated along the PN grafts bridging the eye and the tectum re-entered the SC, arborized and made synaptic contacts with tectal neurones. It is not known if the terminal connections established between RGCs and cells in the SC are appropriate, functional or capable of influencing the long-term survival of their cells of origin.
In the field: an interview with Harald Wolf
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In our new Conversation, Harald Wolf talks about his fieldwork experiences working with desert ants in Tunisia to understand their navigation.
Propose a new Workshop
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Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country.
Julian Dow steps down and John Terblanche joins the JEB team
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After 15 years with the journal, Julian Dow from University of Glasgow, UK, is stepping down as a Monitoring Editor. We wish Julian all the best for the future and welcome John Terblanche, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who is joining the team. Julian talks about his long association with The Company of Biologists and the journal and John tells us about his life and career in this News article.
The capture of crude oil droplets by filter feeders at high and low Reynolds numbers
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Researchers from the University of Montreal, Canada, reveal how tiny filter feeding barnacles and Daphnia entrap and consume minute droplets of crude oil, introducing the pollutant at the bottom of the food chain.
Patterns and processes in amphibious fish
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In their Review, Keegan Lutek, Cassandra Donatelli and Emily Standen discuss the biomechanics and neural control of terrestrial locomotion in amphibious fish. They explore how locomotor mode depends on body shape, physical constraints and phylogeny.
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