Asymmetry is crucial for the heart proper functioning, and now, scientists from the Institute Gulbenkian of Science in Portugal and Harvard University, have discovered that a family of genes, called Nodal, is crucial determining this asymmetry by controlling the speed and direction of the heart muscle cells during embryonic development. The finding, by helping to understand how the heart develops, is a step closer to intervene and is of particular importance if we consider that problems in heart asymmetry are the main cause of heart congenital diseases that can affect as much as 8 out of 1000 newborns. The research will appear in a special December issue of the journal Development Dynamics 1 dedicated to left-right asymmetry development.

* This article is the result of a project for the divulgation of portuguese science" http://www.cienciahoje.pt/1455"