If you’re wondering why I haven’t posted in two days (quite unusual), I’m in Saint Louis for a one-day symposium on disentangling the genetics of alcoholism. As a digression, go to the City Museum if you ever visit. It is a giant, adult-friendly playground constructed from recycled metals and materials from Saint Louis. Oh, they also have a 100 foot spiral slide that causes for an intense cardio workout while ascending the slide and an intense disruption of your vestibular system while descending the slide (but worth it; I went down it +/- 10 times).

Now back to science. In this week’s Journal of ResearchBlogging.orgNeuroscience, researchers have identified the functional significance of developing ependymal cells that circumvent the ventricular system of the brain. Without the ciliary beating of these ependymal cells, this  retards the circulation of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) within the ventricles, predisposing the fetus to fluid retention in the brain, which most often leads to death/mental retardation (i.e. water babies).

Mirzadeh, Z., Han, Y., Soriano-Navarro, M., Garcia-Verdugo, J., & Alvarez-Buylla, A. (2010). Cilia Organize Ependymal Planar Polarity Journal of Neuroscience, 30 (7), 2600-2610 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3744-09.2010