Brain wiring depends on multifaceted gene

For those who struggle to assemble a bike on Christmas Eve or wrestle in vain with the wiring of a home theater system, consider the daunting task that faces the developing human brain. It must make sure that its billions of nerve cells correctly establish trillions of connections among themselves.

Scientists studying how the growing brain of the fruit fly performs its slightly less complex version of this task have found a new gene with a role in guiding growing nerve fibers.