The protein EPHA4 might not sound like anything special but its discovery could mean the hundreds of people who suffer spinal cord injuries each year do not have to spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair.
Researchers at the University of Queensland, in collaboration with the University of Melbourne, announced yesterday that they had identified EPHA4 as the molecule that blocks damaged nerves in the spinal cord from regenerating.
Scientists had suspected one of a number of molecules was inhibiting the recovery process, but did not know which one.
"This looks like it might be the most important molecule discovered to date," said Perry Bartlett, director of UQ's Queensland Brain Institute. "We're fairly excited about it, to say the least."
(The following web site requires registration to read the remainder of this article.)