Janelia completes full connectome of adult fruit fly's 166,000+ neurons after 20 years
burny_tech · x · 2026-09-04
HHMI's Janelia Research Campus, with the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge and Google Research, has completed a wiring diagram of the adult male fruit fly central nervous system, mapping 166,000+ neurons across the brain and ventral nerve cord.
- Launched in 2008 when many considered it impossible; the only prior full connectome was the 302-neuron worm C. elegans.
- Nearly two decades of work involving hundreds of researchers, advancing neuroscience, imaging, AI and biology.
- Janelia is now applying these methods to build connectomes of larval zebrafish and adult Danionella, aiming to explain how vertebrate brains generate complex behavior and shed light on diseases like Alzheimer's, autism and depression.
Related event: AI Helps Map Complete Fruit Fly Connectome: 166,000+ Neurons, Largest Yet(12 posts)→
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