Researchers have created the first high-resolution 3D digital model of the human brain, which they have called "Big Brain". The reconstruction shows the brain's anatomy in microscopic detail, enabling researchers to see features smaller than a strand of hair. It will be made freely available to neuroscientists to help them in their research.

The model has been published in the journal Science. Continue reading the main story "Start Quote We will be able to study the individual layers of the brain's cortex to the very cells themselves'Prof Paul Fletcher Cambridge University The research team had to slice 7,400 sections from the brain of a deceased 65-year-old woman, each half the thickness of a human hair.

The team then had to stain each slice to bring out the anatomical detail and scan them into the computer in high definition. The final step was to reassemble the scanned slices inside the computer.

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