Mapping of fruit fly brain to change neuroscience
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Scientists have created a map of a fruit fly's brain. The map is the most detailed ever produced for an animal. The scientists created a diagram of 139,255 neurons and 50 million connections. The map could revolutionize neuroscience. It could unlock secrets about our own brain. A brain specialist said: "The mapping of the fly brain…will help us get a real grasp of how our own brains work." He said it could help us look at "the mechanism of thought".
The map looks like a work of art. It is a beautiful web of neurons. Scientists sliced the fruit fly's brain into 7,000 microscopic pieces. An electron microscope imaged cells that were four-millionths of a millimetre wide. The researchers classified 8,400 cell types. The neural connections would stretch for 150 metres. The human brain has 86 billion neurons and trillions of connections. It will be many years before scientists can map it.
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