Sonic Hedgehog the Gene?

Taken directly from futurepundit.com:

The ability to make a lot of neural stem cells would be useful for the preparation of stem cell therapies.

Researchers discovered a couple of years ago that Sonic Hedgehog is a major regulator of neuron cells. The body uses the Sonic protein in multiple tissues for development, such as the skin, hair, intestine, pancreas and brain, from the embryo stage to the adult stage. Schaffer’s investigation focuses on Sonic’s role in the brain.

“To regenerate tissue, or replace a lot of neurons, you need to mass-produce the cell, and then you need to take those mass-produced cells and induce them to differentiate them into neurons. So we’re very interested in Sonic Hedgehog because we found it’s a powerful way to mass produce the cells initially,” Schaffer said.

Interesting, huh?