Calcium imaging

Recent articles

Gloved hand reaches out to touch a mouse.

This paper changed my life: Ishmail Abdus-Saboor on balancing the study of pain and pleasure

A 2013 Nature paper from David Anderson’s lab revealed a group of sensory neurons involved in pleasurable touch and led Abdus-Saboor down a new research path.

By Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
13 February 2026 | 7 min read

Waves of calcium activity dictate eye structure in flies

Synchronized signals in non-neuronal retinal cells draw the tiny compartments of a fruit fly’s compound eye into alignment during pupal development.

By Lauren Schneider
12 December 2025 | 0 min watch
Concentric circles.

What are the most transformative neuroscience tools and technologies developed in the past five years?

Artificial intelligence and deep-learning methods featured prominently in the survey responses, followed by genetic tools to control circuits, advanced neuroimaging, transcriptomics and various approaches to record brain activity and behavior.

By The Transmitter
15 November 2025 | 14 min read
Speech bubbles and images of a brain overlaid on a globe.

A community-designed experiment tests open questions in predictive processing

More than 50 scientists came together to identify the key missing data needed to rigorously test theoretical models.

By Jérôme Lecoq
12 November 2025 | 6 min read
Judit Pungor and Angelique Allen stand in front of a saltwater tank.

Cephalopods, vision’s next frontier

For decades, scientists have been teased by the strange but inaccessible cephalopod visual system. Now, thanks to a technological breakthrough from a lab in Oregon, data are finally coming straight from the octopus brain.

By Calli McMurray
27 May 2025 | 13 min read
Detailed image of neurons in the mouse visual cortex.

Inhibitory cells work in concert to orchestrate neuronal activity in mouse brain

A cubic millimeter of brain tissue, meticulously sectioned, stained and scrutinized over the past seven years, reveals in stunning detail the role of inhibitory interneurons in brain structure and function.

By Katie Moisse
9 April 2025 | 6 min read
Raphael Yuste leaning on a bench in his lab. A red filter colors the scene.

Releasing the Hydra with Rafael Yuste

Losing HHMI Investigator status prompted Yuste to study neural networks in a new way.

By Brady Huggett, Shaena Montanari
4 April 2025 | 10 min read
Research image of mouse cells.

Immune cell interlopers breach—and repair—brain barrier in mice

The choroid plexus, the protective network of blood vessels and epithelial cells that line the brain’s ventricles, recruits neutrophils and macrophages during inflammation, a new study shows.

By Claudia López Lloreda
20 November 2024 | 6 min read

New tissue-clearing techniques let microscopes peer deeper into living brains

Washing mouse brain tissue with a blood protein or complex sugar can illuminate cells 550 micrometers into the cortex without compromising its normal physiology.

By Calli McMurray
18 October 2024 | 0 min watch
Illustrated portrait of Lin Tian.

Biosensors and being fearless with Lin Tian

Tian discusses protein function and structure, and the historic city in China where she was born.

By Brady Huggett
1 September 2024 | 62 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

Dendrites help neuroscientists see the forest for the trees

Dendritic arbors provide just the right scale to study how individual neurons reciprocally interact with their broader circuitry—and are our best bet to bridge cellular and systems neuroscience.

By Justin O’Hare
27 February 2026 | 7 min read

Two primate centers drop ‘primate’ from their name

The Washington and Tulane National Biomedical Research Centers—formerly called National Primate Research Centers—say they made the change to better reflect the breadth of research performed at the centers.

By Calli McMurray
26 February 2026 | 5 min read

Post-infection immune conflict alters fetal development in some male mice

The immune-conflict between dam and fetus could help explain sex differences in neurodevelopmental conditions.

By Viviane Callier
26 February 2026 | 5 min read

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