单根神经纤维清晰可见！我国科学家实现小鼠全身“高清全景成像”

Core Insights - The research team from the University of Science and Technology of China has developed the world's fastest subcellular resolution 3D imaging technology for small animals, enabling the first high-definition mapping of the entire neural network in mice [1][3] - This breakthrough provides a new tool for understanding peripheral nerve regulation networks and disease mechanisms, addressing a long-standing challenge in neuroscience [1][3] Group 1: Technology Development - The innovative "blockface-VISoR" technology allows for the entire imaging of an adult mouse in just 40 hours, generating approximately 70TB of raw image data, which is equivalent to thousands of high-definition movies [3] - The efficiency of this technology is improved by several times to tens of times compared to existing methods, with a resolution upgrade from tissue-cell level to uniform subcellular level, enabling clear capture of single nerve fibers with diameters of a few micrometers [3] Group 2: Research Implications - The technology has revealed new structural features such as the cross-segment projection of thoracic spinal neurons and the complex pathways of the vagus nerve, allowing direct observation of the intricate connections within the entire neural network [3] - This advancement is expected to address fundamental questions in neurobiology, developmental biology, anatomy, and biomedicine, laying a solid structural foundation for the development of precise neural regulation therapies [3][4] Group 3: Future Applications - The technology can be utilized to identify early structural changes in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, clarifying the pathogenic mechanisms of these diseases [4] - It also allows for the visualization of drug effects, including gene editing therapies, on targeted tissues and organs, potentially accelerating drug development processes [4] - The research team plans to continuously share their imaging data sets globally to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration in biomedicine [4]