Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have created a new atlas that would enable scientists to determine when and where specific genes are switched on in the central nervous system (CNS).

Researchers can use such clues to explore the molecular machinery that coordinates neural development and chart the functional circuitry of the brain and spinal cord. All data from the Gene Expression Nervous System Atlas (GENSAT) BAC Transgenic Project will be available online to researchers worldwide.

Data derived from the project could have a major impact on the understanding of neurological disorders, according to the project’s leaders, who reported the first results from the project in the October 30, 2003 issue of the journal Nature.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute press release

News tip: Lawrence A. Janowitch