Scientists watch signals across nearly every cell of a living vertebrate at once

The body is never truly quiet. Even when an animal appears to be resting, billions of cells are sending signals, responding to changes and coordinating with organs far beyond their immediate surroundings. For scientists, the challenge has always been hearing enough of that conversation at once. Researchers at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus have now developed a system called WHOLISTIC, short for Whole Organism Live Imaging System for recording Tissue and IntraCellular activity. Published in the journal called Nature, the report states that the technology can capture real-time cellular activity across nearly the entire body of a living vertebrate, offering an unusually broad view of how organs and cells work together.Using transparent larval zebrafish, the team observed activity across systems including the brain, muscles, cardiovascular system and digestive organs simultaneously as the animals moved, ate and rested.From individual cells to the whole animalThe work was developed by Virginie Ruetten, a postdoctoral…