Rainbow Brain Rows

Thousands of nerve cells (neurons) waggling around behind our developing eyes somehow connect precisely with specific neurons in the brain. This amazing feat of wiring is challenging to untangle in humans. Thankfully, the nervous system of the fruit fly (partly pictured here) works in a similar way to our own, but is much easier to investigate. On the left, two different types of neuron in the fly’s imaginal disc (its developing eye) have been genetically-modified to glow as green and red blobs. They develop at different rates – each neuron’s age is vital information used to connect it to the correct area of the brain (blue, right). Sequoia, a protein inside each neuron, organises the neurons by age, producing neat curved layers of red and green connections. These layers will eventually 'plug in' to specific brain regions, bringing vision to the fly, and perhaps a glimpse into our own development.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Abhishek Kulkarni and colleagues
• Department of Neurobiology, University of Vienna, Austria
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Research published in eLife, March 2016