The evolution of nerves: understanding the roots of neurodegeneration

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"Axons are slender extensions of neurons which can be meter-long and form the biological cables that run through our nerves to hardwire the nervous system. In humans, axons must survive for up to a century; we lose ~40% of axons towards high age and many more in neurodegeneration, but the causes are poorly understood. To understand axon maintenance and pathologies, we are focussing on the bundles of microtubules (MTs) that run all along axons - be it in a tiny fly or in a human [Ref1]. These bundles determine axon structure and form the highways for life-sustaining axonal transport. Accordingly, MT bundle decay causes axon degeneration. But the mechanisms that maintain these bundles (and might fail in pathology!) are little understood "