WIDE ANGLE
Mesh of Existence
Apart from neurons, the most important class of cells in the brain is glia. Glia is a support system for all neurons - without them, the neurons can't survive. Here in this picture is one of the many types of glia- Astrocytes, i.e., cells that look like stars. These are everywhere in the brain! In red is the actual structure of these star-like cells and in green is GFAP (Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein), a cytoskeletal element that gives these cells their shape and unique identity. GFAP supports the supporter cells.
One of the key ingredients in the recipe of brain development is the burgeoning of neurons and their connectivity. Neurons, although gain their identity in embryonic age itself, do not completely spread their axons and dendrites until a few weeks after birth. This is an image of a pyramidal neuron from one-month-old mouse cortex (brain), almost at the verge of completion of its dendritic development. A membrane-bound EGFP reporter labels all the intricate branches and processes that the neuron has, which synapse onto other neurons to bring about functional outputs.
This region of the brain is known as the hippocampus, a region key for learning and memory. The red, green, and yellow cells depict a labelling strategy called MADM (Mosaic Analysis of Double markers. ) that creates a mosaic effect. Different colours depict cells coming from a common parent but having different mutations and lineages. This always reminds me of the Rainbow Surprise Donut from MoD and makes me hungry!
This region of the brain is known as the hippocampus, a region key for learning and memory. The red, green, and yellow cells depict a labelling strategy called MADM (Mosaic Analysis of Double markers. ) that creates a mosaic effect. Different colours depict cells coming from a common parent but having different mutations and lineages. This always reminds me of the Rainbow Surprise Donut from MoD and makes me hungry!
