Surprising Astrocytes

This was interesting:

Lead study author Hong Chen, a physician and scientist, transplanted immature human nervous system cells -- generated from adult stem cells -- into the spinal cords of mice. These cells matured into astrocytes. 

The researchers checked in from time to time, and within nine months, found the astrocytes had traveled long distances along the mouse spinal cord, hugging the mouse neurons, connecting to blood vessels and joining with one another, just as mouse astrocytes do. They replaced the mouse astrocytes in the process, but did not affect the ability of the mice to function normally... 

The researchers repeated the experiments with astrocytes matured from human patients with ALS. The astrocytes replaced the mouse astrocytes, behaving just like those from nonALS individuals, except they disrupted motor function in the mice, just like in ALS.

The full article can be read here.

The wikipedia entry on astrocytes can be found here.