In a landmark achievement, Harvard University and Google have developed the most detailed brain map ever created. This innovative project focused on a cubic millimeter of human cerebral cortex, a sample taken during an epilepsy surgery in 2014. Over a decade, biologists and machine-learning experts meticulously mapped approximately 57,000 cells and 150 million synapses, utilizing cutting-edge electron microscopy and advanced digital technology. The process involved staining the brain tissue with heavy metals for visibility under an electron microscope, embedding the tissue in resin, and slicing it into 34-nanometer-thick sections. The team then generated a vast 1.4 petabytes of data, which was processed using machine-learning algorithms developed in collaboration with Google. This sophisticated technology allowed for the creation of a 3D model of the brain’s intricate network, although some manual adjustments were necessary to refine the data. The resulting map provides unprecedented detail, revealing complex cell structures and connections, including neurons with over 50 synapses—a phenomenon previously overlooked. Challenges include manually reviewing the enormous dataset to correct segmentation errors, and some cell types remain ambiguous. The publicly accessible brain map is expected to drive advances in understanding mental health conditions and improve AI systems by modeling brain functions. Future research plans include expanding this work to whole mouse brains and additional human brain regions, aiming to further enhance our knowledge of the brain and its processes.
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