Reacción a "The most detailed brain development maps to date in mammals, including humans, are completed"

This batch of articles is another outcome of the BRAIN Initiative, launched by President Obama in 2013 and expected to continue until 2030. This initiative, with a total estimated budget of over $6 billion, provides funding to more than 550 laboratories grouped into consortia, including the authors of these articles from the Allen Institute in Seattle.

The goal of BRAIN is the development and application of neurotechnology, defined as methods for mapping and modulating the brain. Among the most advanced methods used by BRAIN are transcriptomics, which allow for mapping the cell types present in the brain. Using these methods, these articles describe in detail the types of cells in the mammalian brain during its development.

This atlas of cell types in development is essential not only for scientifically understanding how the brain develops—something absolutely fascinating considering that it assembles and self-organizes without external instructions—but also provides fundamental information for understanding the alterations and pathologies that occur during pregnancy and in the early stages of life.

These results demonstrate how sustained investment in the development and application of new methods is of fundamental importance to science and medicine.