Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Stanford study finds forebrain and hindbrain develop from separate embryonic origins

Stanford Medicine researchers discovered that the human brain is actually built from two distinct developmental lineages: a hindbrain system controlling breathing and heartbeat, and a forebrain/midbrain system responsible for higher cognition. The team found these two regions arise from separate progenitor pathways rather than one branching from the other, and used this insight to finally grow functional hindbrain motor neurons from human stem cells in the lab. They also traced this dual-origin pattern back over 550 million years, finding it in chickens, zebrafish, and acorn worms.

science.slashdot.org · 2026-09-20

Personalized RNA drug shows early promise in rare ALS case

A man with a slow-progressing, genetically rare form of ALS became the first person to receive an antisense oligonucleotide therapy designed specifically to target his causal mutation. A year later, he reported improved symptoms and remains able to work as a physician, according to results published in Med.

nature.com · 2026-09-18