Google Earth for Brains? Scientists Zoom in with X-Rays to Make 3-D Maps of Brain Slices

Updated November 6, 2017 This content is archived.

A group of researchers have used a powerful x-ray to create 3D maps of sections of mouse brains in an effort to obtain a clearer picture of the brain at a level that scientists normally learn about by cutting through sliced samples of brain tissue. Ciprian N. Ionita, PhD, research assistant professor of biomedical engineering, was not involved in the study, but said he was impressed with how the researchers were able to clearly distinguish nerve cells from blood vessels. “This kind of resolution, this kind of imaging can give you information about structures down to the cellular level,” he said.