Identifying the mechanisms that shape neuronal circuit architecture remains a major challenge. A recent study shows that repulsive signaling between parallel visual pathways helps organize their connections into laminar circuits in the inner retina.

Cortical development involves complex interactions between neurons and non-neuronal elements including precursor cells, blood vessels, meninges and associated extracellular matrix. Because they provide a suitable organotypic environment, cortical slice explants are often used to investigate those interactions that control neuronal differentiation and development. Although beneficial, the slice ...

In this paper we introduce the notion of a “stack” of geodesic spaces. Loosely speaking, this consists of a geodesic space decomposed into a sequence of “sheets” indexed by a set of consecutive integers. A stack is said to be “hyperbolic” if it is Gromov hyperbolic and its sheets are uniformly Gromov hyperbolic. We define a Cannon-Thurston map for such a stack, and show that the boundary of a o...

Acervuli are calcified concretions in the pineal gland (PG). Particularly interesting are their incidence and size, which are believed to affect neurological disorders and many physiological functions of PG such as regulating circadian rhythm. Despite long investigations for a century, detailed growth mechanism of acervuli has yet to be studied. Here we study the growth morphology of acervuli i...

Integrin-linked kinase (Ilk) is a scaffold and kinase that links integrin receptors to the actin cytoskeleton and to signaling pathways involved in cell adhesion, migration, and extracellular matrix deposition. Targeted deletion of Ilk from embryonic mouse dorsal forebrain neuroepithelium results in severe cortical lamination defects resembling cobblestone (type II) lissencephaly. Defects in ad...

The cerebellum has a conserved foliation pattern and a well-organized layered structure. The process of foliation and lamination begins around birth. β-catenin is a downstream molecule of Wnt signaling pathway, which plays a critical role in tissue organization. Lack of β-catenin at early embryonic stages leads to either prenatal or neonatal death, therefore it has been difficult to resolve its...

A series of laboratory experiments has been carried out in which parallel-laminated deposits were produced from an upper-regime plane bed. The laminae had thicknesses of a few mm and could be traced continuously over distances up to the length and width of the depositional area (0.3m by 1.5m). Fluctuations in bed elevation were measured both during deposition and at equilibrium; much of the bed...

Hydrogels have been proposed for sensing, drug delivery, and soft robotics applications, yet most of these materials suffer from low mechanical robustness and high permeability to small molecules, limiting their widespread use. This study reports a general strategy and versatile method to fabricate robust, highly stretchable, and impermeable hydrogel laminates via hybrid lamination of an elasto...