A fruit fly might not be the smartest organism, but scientists can still learn a lot from its brain. Researchers are hoping to do that now that they have a new map — the most complete for any organism ...

A comment by Erik Spiekermann on a previous post sparks a discussion on what we talk about when we talk about design. Noad’s redesign is of questionable utility, but every redesign is: That’s the ...

From a tiny sample of tissue no larger than a grain of sand, scientists have come within reach of a goal once thought unattainable: building a complete functional wiring diagram of a portion of the ...

Allen Institute researchers Leila Elabbady and Clay Reid examine brain mapping data from the MICrONS project. (Allen Institute Photo) Researchers say they’ve accomplished a feat that was said to be ...

The tube map is a London icon. Technically it’s not really a map but a diagram, as it doesn’t reflect the real geography of London at all accurately — but its clear, colour-coded lines and friendly ...

At a sprawling ceremonial complex in southern Mexico, archaeologists say they have identified a 3,000‑year‑old layout that appears to encode a vision of the universe in earth and stone. The site, ...

It provides a draft of the connections in the cerebral cortex – the outer layer of the brain responsible for activities such as reasoning and planning – and fills in some of the important blanks ...

TThe fundamental unit of the nervous system is the neuron. Individual neurons are connected by synapses to form circuits. Evolution has driven the formation of ever more elaborate circuits to enable ...