Single-cell sequencing

Recent articles

Two slides feature human brains, with a third slide featuring the silhouette of a brain.

Exclusive: Recruitment issues jeopardize ambitious plan for human brain atlas

A lack of six new brain donors may stop the project from meeting its goal to pair molecular and cellular data with the functional organization of the cortex.

By Calli McMurray
9 May 2025 | 6 min read
Research image of gene expression in cells in the third ventricle of the hypothalamus of young and aged mice.

Age-related brain changes in mice strike hypothalamus ‘hot spot’

Neuronal and non-neuronal cells throughout the brain also express genes—particularly those related to neuronal structure and immune function—differently in aged mice, according to a new atlas.

By Angie Voyles Askham
8 January 2025 | 6 min listen

Expanding set of viral tools targets almost any brain cell type

Harmless viruses that encase short noncoding DNA elements called enhancers enable cell-type-specific gene delivery across the central nervous system in rodents and primates.

By Holly Barker
19 November 2024 | 2 min watch
A cortical neuron glows orange and red.

START method assembles brain’s wiring diagram by cell type

The new technique mapped the interactions of about 50 kinds of inhibitory neurons in the mouse visual cortex in finer detail than previous approaches.

By Holly Barker
31 October 2024 | 5 min read
Six different neurons.

Early trajectory of Alzheimer’s tracked in single-cell brain atlases

Inflammation in glia and the loss of certain inhibitory cells may kick off a disease cascade decades before diagnosis.

By Angie Voyles Askham
23 October 2024 | 8 min read
Research image of tau proteins in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Supersized version of Alzheimer’s protein avoids clumping in brain

“Big tau” may explain why some brain regions, such as the cerebellum and brainstem, are largely spared from neurodegeneration, even though tau is expressed throughout the nervous system.

By Charles Q. Choi
16 August 2024 | 6 min read
Research image of different interneuron subtypes responding to the absence of pyramidal neurons in the mouse cortex.

As circuits wire up, interneurons take cues from surrounding cells

The inhibitory cells’ development, diversity and abundance in the cortex is directed in part by pyramidal cells, a new preprint suggests.

By Olivia Gieger
14 August 2024 | 5 min read
Research illustration groups genes by their effects on brain cell types.

Giant analysis reveals how autism-linked genes affect brain cell types

Genes that predispose people to autism account for a large portion of the neuronal and glial cell changes seen in those with the condition.

By Charles Q. Choi
20 June 2024 | 5 min read
A research image of autism-linked genes.

Autism-linked perturbations converge on cell skeleton and RNA-binding proteins

The findings solidify the idea that autism-linked mutations affect brain activity by way of several key shared mechanisms.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
29 February 2024 | 4 min read
Research image of various types of cells.

Vast diversity of human brain cell types revealed in trove of new datasets

The collection offers a glimpse into differences in cell composition — across people and brain regions — that may shape neural function.

By Angie Voyles Askham
12 October 2023 | 7 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

Photograph of the BRIDGE team and students visiting a laboratory.

Sharing Africa’s brain data: Q&A with Amadi Ihunwo

These data are “virtually mandatory” to advance neuroscience, says Ihunwo, a co-investigator of the Brain Research International Data Governance & Exchange (BRIDGE) initiative, which seeks to develop a global framework for sharing, using and protecting neuroscience data.

By Lauren Schenkman
20 May 2025 | 6 min read
Research image of neurite overgrowth in cells grown from people with autism-linked PPP2R5D variants.

Cortical structures in infants linked to future language skills; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 19 May.

By Jill Adams
20 May 2025 | 2 min read
Digitally distorted building blocks.

The BabyLM Challenge: In search of more efficient learning algorithms, researchers look to infants

A competition that trains language models on relatively small datasets of words, closer in size to what a child hears up to age 13, seeks solutions to some of the major challenges of today’s large language models.

By Alona Fyshe
19 May 2025 | 7 min read