The Bigger Picture

A hundred billion nerve cells packed into a space just over a litre in volume – that’s the human brain. Cracking the puzzle of how this complex organ works involves unravelling how these nerve cells are connected together. Researchers took steps towards solving this problem by improving upon an imaging technique called FIB-SEM. This type of microscopy allows 3D images of a tissue to be captured. However it takes quite a long time and can only be carried out in short bursts. Researchers therefore enhanced multiple aspects of this technique to make it faster and more reliable. Larger tissue volumes could then be captured, such as a big section of the fruit fly brain (pictured) – a common model for studying brain development and function. The detail revealed allowed researchers to identify over 90 per cent of the connections between nerve cells and shows promise for future studies of the brain.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image from work by C Shan Xu and colleagues
• Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, VA, USA
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, May 2017