

How do you delve deep inside a mouse's head? The Whole Brain Catalog is an open-source 3D exploration of the mouse brain, down to the molecular level. Built with jMonkey, a 3D Java graphics engine, it combines data sets from laboratories around the world to create composite models of MRI scans, dyed neurons and computer simulations. "We're putting back together the fragmentation of the field of neuroscience, via data," says Mark Ellisman, 62, project leader and professor of neurosciences and bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego. The database is searchable, so you can view the brain tissue affected by certain diseases, such as Alzheimer's. "The mouse isn't the perfect brain," says Ellisman, "but it's a good place to start."


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