Neuroscientists Benefit from Database Initiatives

Courtesy of Gabrielle LeBlanc, NINDSPurkinje cells in the mouse cerebellum expressing the calbindin gene Researchers maintain and constantly add to numerous gene databases as science progresses in its effort to map the human body. The recent announcement of a major new database initiative, however, may, as one researcher noted, "change the culture of neuroscience." Thanks to financial support from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, explained Gabrielle LeBlanc of NINDS d

Written byJean Mccann

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Courtesy of Gabrielle LeBlanc, NINDS

Purkinje cells in the mouse cerebellum expressing the calbindin gene

Researchers maintain and constantly add to numerous gene databases as science progresses in its effort to map the human body. The recent announcement of a major new database initiative, however, may, as one researcher noted, "change the culture of neuroscience." Thanks to financial support from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, explained Gabrielle LeBlanc of NINDS during the recent Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans, neuroscientists will be able to access images of gene expression from the brain in one database instead of gathering data from many disparate sources.

The GenSAT project, named after NASA's LANDSAT, which shows population densities or other features as captured by satellites, will show regions of density of highly activated gene expression as seen through fluoroscopic microscopes. "We expect this to be a tremendous resource for the ...

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