Putting Heads Together

We share around 85% of our genes with mice and nearly 99% with chimps. Yet genes don’t tell the whole story – how similar are the cells and tissues built from these chemical blue-prints? A team of collaborating scientists are comparing the brains of mice (shown here), monkeys, and humans. They use several techniques, including patch-seq to carefully pinpoint and trace each tangled neuron in a brain region called the primary motor cortex which controls movement – here individual mouse neurons are highlighted in different colours. Patch-seq allows the scientists to probe each neuron’s connections, its electrical properties and which genes are 'switched on'. The idea is to reduce the brain to its pieces – its dozens of types of neurons – then reassemble its circuits virtually, learning how they work in the process. These brain maps will hopefully reveal how diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis may start with changes to a single cell.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Video from work by the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN)
• Video courtesy of the Allen Institute
• Research published in Nature, October 2021