Detailed map of fly's brain holds clues to human mind
This remarkable fruit fly brain analysis will aid in future human brain research
What happened
A consortium of scientists published the first complete map of a fruit fly's brain Wednesday in the journal Nature. Identifying and charting the 130,000 neurons and 50 million connections inside the poppy seed–sized brain of the fly, Drosophila melanogaster, took 10 years and involved hundreds of researchers worldwide.
Who said what
Scientists had mapped the 300-neuron brain of a tiny worm, but this is "the first time we've had a complete map of any complex brain," said Mala Murthy, a Princeton neurobiologist who helped lead the FlyWire project, to The New York Times. The "stunning detail" of the "tremendous complexity" packed into the fruit fly's tiny brain could "reveal principles that apply to other species, including humans, whose brains have 86 billion neurons," the Times said.
The "beautiful" and complex "tangle of wiring" mapped out in computer simulations may hold the "key to explaining how such a tiny organ can carry out so many powerful computational tasks," like sight, hearing and movement, the BBC said.
What next?
This "amazing technical feat" paves the way for mapping the neural pathways of "larger brains such as the mouse and, maybe in several decades, our own," brain researcher Lucia Prieto Godino of London's Francis Crick Institute said to the BBC. A mouse brain "contains about 1,000 times as many neurons as a fly," while the human brains has a million times more, the Times said, and scientists recognize that "bigger brains may not follow" the same "fundamental rules" for sending signals quickly across a fly's brain.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
‘The West needs people’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Filing statuses: What they are and how to choose one for your taxesThe Explainer Your status will determine how much you pay, plus the tax credits and deductions you can claim
-
Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency – an ‘engrossing’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends All 126 images from the American photographer’s ‘influential’ photobook have come to the UK for the first time
-
How roadkill is a surprising boon to scientific researchUnder the radar We can learn from animals without trapping and capturing them
-
NASA’s lunar rocket is surrounded by safety concernsThe Explainer The agency hopes to launch a new mission to the moon in the coming months
-
The world’s oldest rock art paints a picture of human migrationUnder the Radar The art is believed to be over 67,000 years old
-
Moon dust has earthly elements thanks to a magnetic bridgeUnder the radar The substances could help supply a lunar base
-
The ocean is getting more acidic — and harming sharks’ teethUnder the Radar ‘There is a corrosion effect on sharks’ teeth,’ the study’s author said
-
Cows can use tools, scientists reportSpeed Read The discovery builds on Jane Goodall’s research from the 1960s
-
The Iberian Peninsula is rotating clockwiseUnder the radar We won’t feel it in our lifetime
-
NASA discovered ‘resilient’ microbes in its cleanroomsUnder the radar The bacteria could contaminate space
