Neurons are well known for passing rapid messages to each other using synapses to transmit both electrical and chemical information. Yet, other cell types are known to use physically connecting bridging tubes to exchange molecules. Chang and team have just confirmed that a similar type of tube bridge occurs in neurons too, using advanced imaging and machine learning.

The researchers observed the nanotubes transporting amyloid-beta molecules that they had injected into mouse brain cells. These molecules have been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, where they tend to clump together abnormally.

When researchers stopped the bridges from forming, the amyloid-beta stopped spreading between cells, too, confirming that the nanotubes acted as direct conduits.