Discover the intricate network of nerve cells in a single fruit fly’s brain that governs its every move – from flying to eating to sleeping. In a groundbreaking achievement, scientists have unveiled the complete map of all 139,255 nerve cells and their 54.5 million connections in this tiny creature.
Renowned neuroscientist Olaf Sporns hails this work as absolutely captivating. The concept of “connectome,” introduced by Sporns and his team in 2005, refers to mapping the connections between neurons. Over the years, connectomes of various organisms have been mapped, but this fruit fly connectome is unparalleled in scale.
The project involved analyzing electron microscopy images of thousands of brain slices from a female fruit fly and utilizing machine learning to trace and align neurons across different sections. While machine learning brought them close to completing the connectome, human intervention was crucial for error correction. Hundreds of experts from over 50 labs meticulously proofread the map to ensure accuracy.
This monumental task marks a significant milestone in neuroscience research.
2024-10-02 10:00:00
Source from www.sciencenews.org