(Medical Xpress)—The BRCA1 gene, known for its role in suppressing the growth of breast and ovarian tumors, could be necessary for brain development. In a study appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Inder Verma and his colleagues at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California created a strain of mice lacking BRCA1 in neuronal stem cells. These mice had smaller than normal brains with numerous defects. The researchers think BRCA1 played an important role in the evolution of the mammalian brain.
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