Fires of neural destiny

In this striking image, Claire Wyart plunges us into the heart of a zebrafish embryo, seen in dorsal section.
The spinal cord appears like a glowing column, marked by the luminous expression of key genes for neuronal development.

Yellow, red and white signals indicate different molecular markers. They reveal how nerve cells organize themselves in space, guided by subtle gradients that outline the rostro-caudal axis of the organism to come.

This molecular beaconing is not just a play of light: it structures the nervous system. Its alteration can lead to spinal cord anomalies or motor disorders from birth.

By capturing this moment, the researchers go back to the origins of neuronal identity, that moment when, in a burst of signaling, a cell chooses what it will become.

This cellular fire, on the scale of the embryo, sheds light on the very first decisions made by living organisms.

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