[Source: Science Daily]

The new findings identify a potential contributor to microcephaly, a birth defect in which the head is underdeveloped and abnormally small. That’s because the head grows as the brain grows. The federal Centers for Disease Control estimates that microcephaly affects from 1 in 800 children to 1 in 5,000 children in the United States each year. The condition is associated with learning disabilities, developmental delays, vision and hearing loss, movement impairment and other problems.

“By understanding the genetic causes of microcephaly, even though they are rare, we can also help to understand how some viral infections can cause of microcephaly, such as Zika virus or cytomegalovirus,” said researcher Noelle D. Dwyer, PhD, of UVA’s Department of Cell Biology.

Read the Rest of this Article on Science Daily