A research group from Kumamoto University, Japan, has discovered a new neurogenic mechanism responsible for brain development. By applying proprietary technology to detect trace proteins in living organisms, they found that a novel protein called Matrin-3 is responsible for determining the fate of neural stem cells. A deficiency of this protein causes a disordered differentiation of neural stem cells into neurons, which results in the collapse of the brain layer structure. It is clear that Matrin-3 is important for the maintenance of neural stem cells in brain development.