A paper published in PNAS presents a detailed map of how multiple cerebellar projections to the rest of the brain develop, identifying when and how these connections are established and consolidated. The results show that this connectivity emerges much earlier than expected, suggesting that the cerebellum may act as an early ‘hub’ essential for organizing the brain’s initial architecture.

In a study published recently in Nature Methods, scientists at The Ohio State University report on a new approach to immobilize extracellular vesicles in a way that mimics their interactions with tissues, a tricky environment compared to bodily fluids because these particles have a specific characteristic: They’re sticking to a surface. The new technique enables label-free immobilization of extracellular vesicles and particles without damaging them, allowing researchers to study them individually or in clumps and observe how they interact with cells.