'Brainbow' paints individual neurons with different colours

Not Exactly Rocket Science
By Ed Yong
Oct 1, 2009 7:01 PMNov 5, 2019 12:12 AM

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This article is reposted from the old Wordpress incarnation of Not Exactly Rocket Science. The blog is on holiday until the start of October, when I'll return with fresh material.

At Harvard University, a group of creative scientists have turned the brains of mice into beautiful tangles of colour. By mixing together a palette of fluorescent proteins, they have painted individual neurons with up to 90 different colours. Their technique, dubbed 'Brainbow', gives them an unprecedented vision of how the brain's cells are connected to each other.

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