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Feb.
3, 2003 |
Automating Brain Cell Research
The mind works in mysterious ways, and one Rensselaer
researcher and his colleagues have created a computer automation
tool to help scientists solve those mysteries, speed understanding
of how the brain develops, and delve more deeply into brain function
at the cellular level.
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A portion of an optical slice from a 3-D
confocal microscope image of a small portion of the rat
hippocampus. The red-colored objects in this image are the
fluorescently labeled cell nuclei. The green regions are
products of gene transcription activity as revealed by fluorescence
in-situ hybridization (FISH)
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Analysis of brain activity by
Quantitative cat-FISH |
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Rensselaer engineering professor Badri Roysam
has developed a technology called "Quantitative cat-FISH"
that analyzes 3-D, microscopic images of the brains of rats after
they have run through mazes. By logging important cellular information
on the brains — such as activity, cell shape, size, and location
in a simple spreadsheet — for analysis, the software helps
researchers identify which cells are active and when. In the past,
scientists have only been able to pinpoint which general regions
of the brain are active.
Researchers used to perform some of the time-consuming
cell counting and transcription work by hand. Roysam's system
now allows scientists to process more data and tissue faster and
without subjective error. It also enables scientists to make more
reliable conclusions.
"Quantitative cat-FISH" stands for Quantitative
Cellular Compartment Analysis of Temporal Activity - Fluorescence
In-Situ Hybridization. It was developed by Roysam along with Jim
Turner, director of Wadsworth's Nanobiotechnology Program, and
a team of scientists led by Carol Barnes, research scientist and
professor of psychology and neurology at the University of Arizona.
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