New Resolution

Imagine travelling through the brain, being able to map differences between individuals and perhaps even easily pinpointing the areas where the brain’s connections have ‘gone wrong’ in diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia. By combining rapid automated electron microscopy analysis of normal and diseased brain tissue with new imaging technology neuroscientists are working towards doing exactly that. Pictured is a composite of false-coloured electron microscopy image of vanishingly thin sections of mouse brain tissue. Within the cylindrical area – which is ten times smaller than a typical sand grain – more than 500 nerve fibres and their junctions or synapses can be seen in unprecedented detail. With technology like this our most fascinating organ is surrendering more secrets of its structure and activity.

Written by Rhiannon Grant

Rhiannon Grant

Writer

An Edinburgh-based real life researcher, Rhiannon is most enthusiastic about communicating the joy of science to people who think they hate all science. She currently works as a technician in a neuroscience lab.

• Image courtesy of Bobby Kasthuri, Daniel Berger and colleagues
• Harvard University
• Copyright held by original authors
• Research by Jeff Lichtman Lab