And because tails are an extension of the spine, the findings could also have implications for understanding malformations of the neural tube that can occur during human fetal development ...

Interestingly, the researchers found that the mice that had lost their tails showed a greater prevalence of spina bifida, a birth defect that affects the neural tube, an embryonic structure that ...

In mice that modeled the AluY insertion into the TBXT gene, the researchers found that there was a small but statistically significant increase in neural tube defects. The researchers are now planning ...

Scientists have found that tail-loss evolution in apes and humans has increased their risk of developing neural tube defects, or birth defects that affect the spine or central nervous system.

These experiments also showed that tail loss might also coincide with an increase in neural tube defects, which in people can cause diseases like spina bifida - an affliction when the spine does ...

In addition, folate can provide health benefits such as: Neural Tube Birth Defect Prevention Neural tube birth defects occur in an unborn baby's brain or spine. The neural tube forms in the embryo ...

Specifically, the research team found a small uptick in neural tube defects in mice with the study insertion in the TBXT gene.

On one end, the neural tube started to fold around day 6, on the other a tail began to bud. By day 8, a beating heart began to circulate blood through vessels forming around the embryo’s yolk sac.