Researchers have discovered a protein that might prevent neurons
from dying after traumatic brain injuries such as those caused
by severe car accidents. Seong-Seng Tan of the Howard Florey
Institute in Australia and his colleagues tested the activity of
18,000 genes in surviving neurons that surrounded an injury site
in the brains of mice. All but one gene--responsible for
generating the protein N4WBP5--drastically reduced their protein
production during the 24 hours after injury. When Tan
manipulated stressed brain cells into producing more N4WBP5 than
usual, a dramatically higher number of cells survived. This
article was originally published with the title Protein Prevents
Neuron Death.