Exploding Brains

Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) have many genes in common with humans, making them ideal model organisms for studying similar but simpler features. There’s one obvious problem though, the average fly is 650 times smaller than the average human (Jeff Goldblum). To get a better look inside, here researchers 'blow up' a fly’s brain using expansion microscopy. Encasing the brain in a wobbly chunk of hydrogel swells and stretches its structures to 40 times their original size. Next, using gentle layers of laser light, light sheet fluorescence microscopy highlights patterns of fluorescent proteins preserved in the exploded neurons (coloured yellow here). Such combinations of techniques allow researchers to view delicate structures in 3D at a level of detail that was once only achievable with electron microscopy – and at a lower cost for research groups worldwide.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

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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 Xuejiao Tian and Tzu-Yang Lin, and colleagues
• Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
• Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, December 2024