For the first time, scientists have mapped every single neural connection in the brain and central nervous system of an adult male fruit fly. In this years-long project by HHMI Janelia Research Campus, Google Research, and collaborators from the scientific community, this map of the male fruit fly brain includes a record-breaking more than 166,000 neurons. It’s a big step in advancing neuroscience experiments on this key model organism.
AI is making it possible for scientists and researchers to exponentially scale projects in the field of connectomics, which precisely reconstruct the connections between brain cells. This new complete brain map, a first for a male fruit fly, builds on the earlier release of a complete female fruit fly brain map, and promises to be a foundational resource for neuroscience for years to come.
Today, we’re sharing five images from the project.
