Microscopy

Recent articles

Holographic mesoscope reads, writes from different cortical regions simultaneously

The tool could help reveal how information transmission between areas relates to perception, cognition and behavior.

By Simon Makin
7 October 2026 | 0 min watch
Davi Bock standing in front of a poster showing visualizations of connectomes.

Beyond wiring diagrams: Inside a $19 million effort to expand access to connectome technology

Davi Bock’s lab took the millions of images that led to the complete connectome of a fruit fly brain. Now he wants to apply “this high-throughput flashlight across all areas of biology.”

By Calli McMurray
6 October 2026 | 11 min read
Hand holding a vial of microplastics.

Measuring plastic in the brain: Improving, but incomplete

Meanwhile, researchers are publishing papers without “sufficient quality control,” says analytical chemist Dušan Materić.

By Amber Dance
18 September 2026 | 9 min read
Research image of simultaneous imaging of neurons.

Optimized two-photon microscopy enables voltage imaging at multiple depths

The tool could reveal how information flows within and between cortical layers during neural processing.

By Simon Makin
11 August 2026 | 4 min read

A planetarium for the brain

Tyler Sloan’s new film, more than a decade in the making, takes viewers on an immersive journey.

By Emily Singer
27 July 2026 | 1 min watch
Adam Kampff.

Remembering Adam Kampff, neuroscience educator and researcher

Kampff’s do-it-yourself approach inspired a generation of neuroscientists.

By Lauren Schneider
24 December 2025 | 6 min read
Research image of a mouse brain with the same spot shown three times in different colors to show different neurochemical concentrations.

New dopamine sensor powers three-color imaging in live animals

The tool leverages a previously unused segment of the color spectrum to track the neurotransmitter and can be used with two additional sensors to monitor other neurochemicals at different wavelengths.

By Diana Kwon
25 July 2025 | 4 min read
Detailed image of neurons in the mouse visual cortex.

Inhibitory cells work in concert to orchestrate neuronal activity in mouse brain

A cubic millimeter of brain tissue, meticulously sectioned, stained and scrutinized over the past seven years, reveals in stunning detail the role of inhibitory interneurons in brain structure and function.

By Katie Moisse
9 April 2025 | 6 min read
Astrocytes in a mouse brain.

Unexpected astrocyte gene flips image of brain’s ‘stalwart sentinels’

The genetic marker upends the accepted orientation of non-star-like astrocytes in the glia limitans superficialis.

By Lauren Schenkman
28 March 2025 | 5 min read

New tissue-clearing techniques let microscopes peer deeper into living brains

Washing mouse brain tissue with a blood protein or complex sugar can illuminate cells 550 micrometers into the cortex without compromising its normal physiology.

By Calli McMurray
18 October 2024 | 0 min watch

Explore more from The Transmitter

How does a control theorist explain cognition?

Maxim Raginsky draws on control theory, engineering and philosophy to explore what makes biological brains intelligent, what artificial intelligence is missing, and what principles underlie biological autonomy.

By Paul Middlebrooks
7 October 2026 | 1 min read

Susana Carmona on the neurobiology of pregnancy

In a Q&A about her new book, “A Mother’s Brain,” Carmona shares key moments in her career that led her to study the neuroscience of motherhood and discusses some of the major questions the field still needs to address.

By Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
6 October 2026 | 8 min read
Cerebellar Purkinje cells.

Aging biomarkers in autism; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 5 October.

By Jill Adams
6 October 2026 | 2 min read