connectomics

Google helps publish the largest high-res map of brain connectivity

A joint effort between Google and the Janelia Research Campus has just achieved a significant breakthrough in brain mapping. They've published the largest high-resolution map of brain connectivity to date, offering a 3D model of 25,000 fruit fly neurons across a diverse range of cell types and multiple brain regions. The team achieved the feat by cutting sections of the fly's brain into ultra-thin (20-micron) slices, imaging those pieces with electron streams from a scanning electron microscope and stitching them back together. The result is a sophisticated map with so few disruptions that it's practical to trace neurons through the brain.