This is the most detailed image ever taken of a brain – 64 million times sharper than current technology allows.
The picture was taken of a mouse brain using a high-powered magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device with an unprecedented level of detail.
Scientists have yet to repeat the highly detailed scans on human brains, which could in the future help doctors detect diseases earlier and patients survive longer.
They hope the scans of mice will pave the way for breakthroughs in the treatment and progression of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Scientists were able to produce the rainbow-colored peek inside the neural networks of mice of varying ages and genetic makeups using extremely strong magnets
The scientists produced MRI scans that were a staggering 64 million times clearer than can currently be achieved in hospitals.
While MRI scans are crucial to the diagnosis of potentially deadly conditions such as brain tumors, they cannot currently go into microscopic detail.
After completing an MRI scan on a mouse’s brain in exquisite detail, scientists produced another image using a method known as light sheet microscopy. This allowed the team to visualize the internal structure and connections within the brain in technicolor detail.
The scans have so far only been performed on mice, but the scientists behind the innovation are optimistic that the technology could be integral to tracking age-related changes in human brains, possibly leading to new breakthrough treatments.
The team was led by researchers at the Center for In Vivo Microscopy at Duke University and is the culmination of four decades of research.
The colorful scans show changes in the brain’s connections as it ages. They also illustrate how specific regions of the brain – such as the memory-involved subiculum – change more than the rest of the mouse’s brain.
The report detailing the scans’ findings was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr G. Allan Johnson the lead author of the new paper said: ‘It is something that is truly enabling. We can start looking at neurodegenerative diseases in an entirely different way.’
The scientists were able to produce the rainbow-colored peek inside the neural networks of mice of varying ages and genetic makeups using extremely strong magnets, far stronger than those that are typically used in an MRI machine.
Most of the machines in use across the US use 1.5 to 3 Tesla magnets. Tesla is the unit of measurement of the total magnetic field which passes through a given area and the higher the Tesla score, the stronger the magnet.
The researchers behind the latest scans employed a 9.4 Tesla magnet as well as a special set of gradient coils 100 times stronger than those in clinical MRI machines.
To help generate the brain image they used a high-performance computer equivalent to nearly 800 laptops all working at once to image one brain.
After they completed the MRI scan, scientists performed light sheet microscopy on the brain tissue sample, enabling them to label specific groups of cells in the brain and monitor them for changes or progression in neurodegenerative disease over time.
The images were also able to capture how Alzheimer’s disease breaks down neural networks.
The applications of the high-powered MRI technology could be wide-ranging, helping doctors diagnose cancers and neurological diseases before it’s too late.
News
Study Shows Brain Signals Only Matter if They Arrive on Time
Signals are processed only if they reach the brain during brief receptive cycles. This timing mechanism explains how attention filters information and may inform therapies and brain-inspired technologies. It has long been recognized that [...]
Does Space-Time Really Exist?
Is time something that flows — or just an illusion? Exploring space-time as either a fixed “block universe” or a dynamic fabric reveals deeper mysteries about existence, change, and the very nature of reality. [...]
Unlocking hidden soil microbes for new antibiotics
Most bacteria cannot be cultured in the lab-and that's been bad news for medicine. Many of our frontline antibiotics originated from microbes, yet as antibiotic resistance spreads and drug pipelines run dry, the soil [...]
By working together, cells can extend their senses beyond their direct environment
The story of the princess and the pea evokes an image of a highly sensitive young royal woman so refined, she can sense a pea under a stack of mattresses. When it comes to [...]
Overworked Brain Cells May Hold the Key to Parkinson’s
Scientists at Gladstone Institutes uncovered a surprising reason why dopamine-producing neurons, crucial for smooth body movements, die in Parkinson’s disease. In mice, when these neurons were kept overactive for weeks, they began to falter, [...]
Old tires find new life: Rubber particles strengthen superhydrophobic coatings against corrosion
Development of highly robust superhydrophobic anti-corrosion coating using recycled tire rubber particles. Superhydrophobic materials offer a strategy for developing marine anti-corrosion materials due to their low solid-liquid contact area and low surface energy. However, [...]
This implant could soon allow you to read minds
Mind reading: Long a science fiction fantasy, today an increasingly concrete scientific goal. Researchers at Stanford University have succeeded in decoding internal language in real time thanks to a brain implant and artificial intelligence. [...]
A New Weapon Against Cancer: Cold Plasma Destroys Hidden Tumor Cells
Cold plasma penetrates deep into tumors and attacks cancer cells. Short-lived molecules were identified as key drivers. Scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP), working with colleagues from Greifswald University Hospital and [...]
This Common Sleep Aid May Also Protect Your Brain From Alzheimer’s
Lemborexant and similar sleep medications show potential for treating tau-related disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that a commonly used sleep medication can restore normal sleep patterns and [...]
Sugar-Coated Nanoparticles Boost Cancer Drug Efficacy
A team of researchers at the University of Mississippi has discovered that coating cancer treatment carrying nanoparticles in a sugar-like material increases their treatment efficacy. They reported their findings in Advanced Healthcare Materials. Over a tenth of breast [...]
Nanoparticle-Based Vaccine Shows Promise in Fighting Cancer
In a study published in OncoImmunology, researchers from the German Cancer Research Center and Heidelberg University have created a therapeutic vaccine that mobilizes the immune system to target cancer cells. The researchers demonstrated that virus peptides combined [...]
Quantitative imaging method reveals how cells rapidly sort and transport lipids
Lipids are difficult to detect with light microscopy. Using a new chemical labeling strategy, a Dresden-based team led by André Nadler at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) and [...]
Ancient DNA reveals cause of world’s first recorded pandemic
Scientists have confirmed that the Justinian Plague, the world’s first recorded pandemic, was caused by Yersinia pestis, the same bacterium behind the Black Death. Dating back some 1,500 years and long described in historical texts but [...]
“AI Is Not Intelligent at All” – Expert Warns of Worldwide Threat to Human Dignity
Opaque AI systems risk undermining human rights and dignity. Global cooperation is needed to ensure protection. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has changed how people interact, but it also poses a global risk to human [...]
Nanomotors: Where Are They Now?
First introduced in 2004, nanomotors have steadily advanced from a scientific curiosity to a practical technology with wide-ranging applications. This article explores the key developments, recent innovations, and major uses of nanomotors today. A [...]
Study Finds 95% of Tested Beers Contain Toxic “Forever Chemicals”
Researchers found PFAS in 95% of tested beers, with the highest levels linked to contaminated local water sources. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known as forever chemicals, are gaining notoriety for their ability [...]
