With a new body mapping technique, mouse innards glow with exquisite detail

Creating spongelike holes in mouse tissue helps fluorescent markers penetrate an entire mouse

An image of fluorescent antibodies light up the nervous system of a dead, transparent mouse, lying on its back with its head to the left. Colors show how deep nerve cells are in the animal, from blue (closest to the camera) to pink to yellow (farthest away).

Fluorescent antibodies light up the nervous system of a dead, transparent mouse, lying on its back with its head to the left. Colors show how deep nerve cells are in the animal, from blue (closest to the camera) to pink to yellow (farthest away).

© Ertürk Lab/Helmholtz Munich

A mouse’s entire nervous system lights up in psychedelic hues.