Singapore, Nov. 6 -- Parkinson's disease is Singapore's second most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting about three in every 1,000 people aged 50 and above. The condition damages midbrain dopaminergic neurons-cells that release the chemical dopamine to control movement and learning. Restoring these cells could one day help alleviate symptoms such as tremors and mobility loss.

To better understand how these neurons develop when grown in a laboratory, the Duke-NUS team built a two-step mapping framework called BrainSTEM (Brain Single-cell Two tiEr Mapping). Working with partners, including the University of Sydney, they analysed nearly 680,000 cells from the fetal brain to map the entire cellular landscape.

The second higher-reso...