In:
eLife, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, Vol. 4 ( 2015-12-03)
Abstract:
Understanding how the brain and nervous system develops from a few cells into complex, interconnected networks is a key goal for neuroscientists. Although researchers have identified many of the genes involved in this process, how these work together to form an entire brain remains unknown. A simple worm called Caenorhabiditis elegans is commonly used to study brain development because it has only about 300 neurons, simplifying the study of its nervous system. The worms are easy to grow in the laboratory and are transparent, allowing scientists to observe how living worms develop using a microscope. Researchers have learned a great deal about the initial growth of the nervous system in C. elegans embryos. However, it has been difficult to study the embryos once their muscles have formed because they constantly twist, fold, and move, making it hard to track the cells. Now, Christensen, Bokinsky, Santella, Wu et al. have developed a computer program that allows scientists to virtually untwist the embryos and follow the development of the nervous system from its beginning to when the embryo hatches. First, images are taken of worm embryos that produce fluorescent proteins marking certain body parts. The program, with user input, labels the fluorescent cells in the images, which indicates how the embryo is bending and allows the program to straighten the worm. The program can also track how cells move around the embryo during development and show the positional relationships between different cells at different stages of development. Christensen et al. have made the program freely available for other researchers to use. The next step is to increase automation, making the software faster and more straightforward for users. Ultimately, the software could help in the challenge to comprehensively examine the development of each neuron in the worm.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2050-084X
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.10070.001
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.10070.002
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10.7554/eLife.10070.003
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10.7554/eLife.10070.004
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10.7554/eLife.10070.005
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10.7554/eLife.10070.006
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10.7554/eLife.10070.007
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10.7554/eLife.10070.008
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10.7554/eLife.10070.009
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10.7554/eLife.10070.010
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10.7554/eLife.10070.011
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10.7554/eLife.10070.012
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10.7554/eLife.10070.013
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10.7554/eLife.10070.014
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10.7554/eLife.10070.015
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10.7554/eLife.10070.016
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10.7554/eLife.10070.017
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10.7554/eLife.10070.018
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10.7554/eLife.10070.019
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10.7554/eLife.10070.020
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10.7554/eLife.10070.021
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10.7554/eLife.10070.022
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10.7554/eLife.10070.023
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10.7554/eLife.10070.024
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10.7554/eLife.10070.025
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10.7554/eLife.10070.026
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10.7554/eLife.10070.027
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10.7554/eLife.10070.028
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10.7554/eLife.10070.029
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10.7554/eLife.10070.030
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10.7554/eLife.10070.031
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10.7554/eLife.10070.032
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10.7554/eLife.10070.033
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10.7554/eLife.10070.034
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10.7554/eLife.10070.035
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10.7554/eLife.10070.036
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10.7554/eLife.10070.037
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10.7554/eLife.10070.038
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10.7554/eLife.10070.039
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10.7554/eLife.10070.040
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10.7554/eLife.10070.041
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10.7554/eLife.10070.042
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10.7554/eLife.10070.043
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10.7554/eLife.10070.044
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10.7554/eLife.10070.045
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10.7554/eLife.10070.046
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10.7554/eLife.10070.047
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10.7554/eLife.10070.048
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10.7554/eLife.10070.049
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10.7554/eLife.10070.050
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10.7554/eLife.10070.051
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10.7554/eLife.10070.052
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10.7554/eLife.10070.053
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10.7554/eLife.10070.054
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10.7554/eLife.10070.055
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10.7554/eLife.10070.056
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.10070.057
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.10070.058
Language:
English
Publisher:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publication Date:
2015
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2687154-3
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