Scientists wove molecules into threads — and brain cells started thriving on them

Samuel Stupp's lab at Northwestern University built molecules that assemble themselves into threads longer than a human cell is wide — giants by molecular standards, yet precisely controllable down to their chemical segments. Then came the surprise: brain cells grown on these threads grew faster, organized themselves, and formed more of the connections that let neurons talk to each other. Published in Science, the work could one day inform materials that help repair damaged nerves — like giving growing brain cells a trellis to climb, and watching them flourish.