Tiny worm opens big discovery on nerve degeneration
Dr Brent Neumann
Dr Brent Neumann, together with an international research team, found tiny roundworms measuring just 1mm in length could hold the key to unravelling diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. They discovered two new proteins that play a role in the degeneration of axons in nerve cells – one of the first parts of the nerve cell destroyed in neurodegenerative diseases. Their research was published in Cell Reports, and reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and the Brisbane Times.