[ExI] NYTimes.com: Decoding the Human Brain, With Help From a Fly

Mike Dougherty msd001 at gmail.com
Wed Dec 15 02:17:49 UTC 2010


2010/12/14 Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com>:
> Decoding the Human Brain, With Help From a Fly
>
> Taiwanese researchers have managed to bar code some 16,000 of the 100,000
> neurons in a fruit fly’s brain and to reconstruct the brain’s wiring map.
>
> In terms similar to those that define computers, the team describes the
> general architecture of the fly’s brain as composed of 41 local processing
> units, 58 tracts that link the units to other parts of the brain, and six
> hubs.
>
> Biologists see this atlas of the fly brain as a first step toward
> understanding the human brain. Six of the chemicals that transmit messages
> between neurons are the same in both species. And the general structure ­
> two hemispheres with copious cross-links ­ is also similar.
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> This certainly has implications for doing the same with human brains.

Do you think flies have the same shit on their minds too?




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