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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Ian Sample Science editor

Tiny brain, big deal: fruit fly diagram could transform neuroscience

Intricate diagram of fruit fly brain
Cells in the brain of an adult fruit fly. Photograph: Tyler Sloan for FlyWire, Princeton University

Researchers have produced the first wiring diagram for the whole brain of a fruit fly, a feat that promises to revolutionise the field of neuroscience and pave the way for unprecedented insights into how the brain produces behaviour.

Rarely in science has so much effort been directed toward so little material, with scientists taking years to map the meanderings of all 139,255 neurons and the 50m connections bundled up inside the fly’s poppy seed-sized brain.

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