New chip could help test drugs for ALS, other neuromuscular disorders.
A new microfluidic device that replicates the neuromuscular junction -- the vital connection where nerve meets muscle -- contains a small cluster of neurons (green) and a single muscle fiber (red). A fluorescence image, bottom, shows the motor neurons sending out axons toward a muscle strip over a distance of about 1 millimeter. Image: Sebastien Uzel.