Flying Start

Scientists have completed a map of connections – a connectome – between neurons in the brain of a developing fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). Fruit flies share many of our genes – so the circuits unpicked here are likely to simpler but similar to our own, with many secrets to share. A team of researchers spent 12 years piecing together electron microscopy pictures, tracing 548,000 connections between 3,016 neurons – each represented by a colourful balloon here (although around 100,000 times smaller). While the team begins work on mapping out the more complex adult fly brain, they are already learning from the combination of 'big picture' and 'zoomed in' views this map provides. The organisation of the fly’s brain circuits may inspire new forms of machine learning and artificial intelligence, while providing a plateau from which to appreciate – and make plans to explore – the vast complexity of the mammalian brain.

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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• Image from work by Michael Winding and colleagues
• Johns Hopkins University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Baltimore, MD, USA and MRC LMB, Cambridge, UK
• Image copyright held by the original authors
• Research published in Science, March 2023