FOR decades, neuroscientists laboured under the notion that the
brain—our most precious organ, which defines our mind and controls our
every move—is utterly incapable of healing itself.
Then, a few years ago, the picture changed: we do produce new neurons,
researchers found. But this only seemed to be happening in paltry numbers in a
few small areas of the brain, so no one was ripping up the textbooks.
Until now. Our brains turn out to be brimming with cells that have the
potential to generate new neurons. As the San Diego conference heard last week,
glial cells, long…
