Neuroscience and Beyond

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How can we map the brain’s wiring at molecular resolution, and what are the realistic promises and limits of connectomics?
In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we speak with Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt, group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, UK), where his lab investigates #brain wiring at the molecular level. With previous research experience at ISTA Austria and E11 Bio, he works at the intersection of #ExpansionMicroscopy, molecular labeling, and scalable circuit reconstruction.
Beyond defining #connectomics, this conversation explores the technical, conceptual, and organizational challenges of mapping #NeuralCircuits at scale.
In this episode, we discuss:
Why synapses operate at the nanometer scale, and why this pushes imaging technology to its limits
How physical tissue expansion bypasses the diffraction limit of light #microscopy
Why whole-brain connectomes are rare “hero datasets” and what prevents comparative connectomics
How combinatorial neuronal barcoding could reduce manual proofreading in circuit reconstruction
Why new research models like Focused Research Organizations aim to close the gap between #academia and #industry. 

Timestamps
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:00 Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt’s research focus
00:02:20 How Small Is a Synapse?
00:05:20 How Can We See Synapses?
00:08:00 What Can Connectomics Realistically Reveal?
00:13:00 Connectomics With Electron Microscopy vs. Light Microscopy 
00:16:00  Expansion Microscopy
00:18:48  What Is Neuronal Barcoding?
00:26:00 Are Glia Part of Connectomics?
00:29:15  Does Expansion Microscopy Introduce Artifacts?
00:32:00  What Is E11 Bio and a Focused Research Organization?
00:38:45  From ISTA to Cambridge - Building a Lab
00:44:48  What Are Connectopathies?
00:54:00 Advices to Graduate Students

Read the most recent preprint here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.26.678648v1
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content. Watch our new episode to explore how connectomics, expansion microscopy, and neuronal barcoding are reshaping our ability to map the brain at molecular resolution.
🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond  
Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286
Neuroscience and Beyond team:
Svilen Georgiev
Kristina Jevdokimenko
Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı
Laura van Agen

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Why is it becoming harder to build a stable career in science?
Prof. Sauer reflects on structural pressures in academia: competitive #ResearchFunding, short-term contracts, and increasing administrative burdens. He discusses how evaluation metrics and grant systems shape career paths and may discourage long-term, high-risk research.
He highlights the need for sustainable funding structures and realistic career prospects for early-career scientists.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content and honest conversations about academic life.
 #academic #challenges #academia #science #ResearchFunding #AcademicCareers #PhDLife 
Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286
Neuroscience and Beyond team:
Svilen Georgiev
Kristina Jevdokimenko
Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı
Laura van Agen

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How do you see structures inside cells that are smaller than the wavelength of light? Why was the diffraction limit considered an unbreakable barrier for decades, and how did super-resolution microscopy change everything?
In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we explore the frontiers of biological imaging with Prof. Markus Sauer, a pioneer of modern super-resolution microscopy. Prof. Sauer developed direct STORM (dSTORM), a technique that enables visualization of molecular organization at the nanometer scale. He leads the super-resolution microscopy lab at the Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, where his team continues to push the boundaries of cellular imaging.
We discuss how single-molecule localization microscopy works, what are the technical challenges that we had to overcome to see the nanometer molecular world, and how these methods are now central to research in neuroscience, immunology, and translational science. The conversation also explores expansion microscopy, quantitative imaging, and the challenges of interpreting increasingly detailed biological data.
This episode takes a closer look at how improved imaging reshapes our understanding of cells, and why higher resolution often leads to deeper questions.
In this episode, you’ll learn about:
Important barriers to brake in order to achieve super-resolution microscopy
The principles behind dSTORM and single-molecule localization
What super-resolution reveals about molecular organization in neurons and in the context of immunology
Expansion microscopy and its impact on modern cell biology
Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction & Episode Overview
00:02:10 Markus Sauer’s Path into Microscopy
00:08:40 What Is the Diffraction Limit and Why It Matters
00:12:30 The Idea Behind Super-Resolution Microscopy
00:15:20 How dSTORM Works at the Single-Molecule Level
00:30:00 From Physics to Biology: Applications of Microscopy
00:42:40 Expansion Microscopy
00:47:30 What is Next in Microscopy? What are the limitations?
00:54:00 Current Challenges and Future Directions

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content.
🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond

#Neuroscience #SuperResolutionMicroscopy #dSTORM #Microscopy #CellBiology #DiffractionLimit #ExpansionMicroscopy #Neuroimaging #SciencePodcast #Biophysics
Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286

Neuroscience and Beyond team:
Svilen Georgiev
Kristina Jevdokimenko
Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı
Laura van Agen

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How do cells move cargo with such precision? What controls vesicle trafficking, and why does this process shape everything from cellular communication to disease? And what can extracellular vesicles really reveal about health, aging, and neurodegeneration?

In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, Professor Randy Schekman, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, helps unpack these questions. He explains the molecular machinery behind vesicle trafficking, how these pathways were discovered through foundational cell biology, and how this research enabled breakthroughs like insulin production in yeast. Prof. Schekman also explores what extracellular vesicles carry and why interpreting their biological roles remains experimentally challenging.

The conversation then shifts to Parkinson’s disease; its complexity, why current treatments mostly manage symptoms, and why early cellular changes may begin long before diagnosis. Prof. Schekman highlights research on genetic risk, environmental factors, and emerging evidence that vigorous exercise may influence disease progression.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:
How vesicle trafficking and extracellular vesicles shape cellular communication
The cell‑biology foundations behind technologies like insulin production
Why Parkinson’s disease is so difficult to treat and detect early
Genetics, early warning signs, and the role of exercise in Parkinson’s research

Timestamps
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:08 Why Vesicle Trafficking Matters & Path to Nobel
00:10:12 Discovering Cellular Transport Mechanisms
00:16:52 How Vesicles Shape Cell Growth
00:22:18 From Cell Biology to Insulin Production
00:29:55 Technology, Science, and Deep Thinking
00:37:28 Why Extracellular Vesicles Are Important
00:43:32 Why Parkinson’s Disease Is So Devastating
00:48:23 Funding Parkinson’s Research at Scale
00:55:25 Does Parkinson’s Start Outside the Brain?
01:00:19 Can Exercise Slow Parkinson’s Progression?
01:06:40 Advice for Young Scientists

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content.
🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond

#Neuroscience, #CellBiology #ParkinsonsDisease #ExtracellularVesicles #VesicleTrafficking #Neurodegeneration #MedicalResearch #SciencePodcast #NobelPrizeLaureate

Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286

Neuroscience and Beyond team:
Svilen Georgiev
Kristina Jevdokimenko
Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı
Laura van Agen

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Why is Alzheimer’s disease so difficult to treat and how is the brain’s immune system involved?
Professor Michael Heneka, Director of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, joins us to discuss key topics in #neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s disease.
We explore how inflammation shapes the progression of #neurodegeneration, why detecting Alzheimer’s early remains a challenge, and the surprising biological world of tunneling nanotubes-tiny bridges that let cells exchange materials and signals.
Professor Heneka also breaks down emerging strategies in #prevention, #personalizedmedicine, #genetherapy, and anti-inflammatory approaches that could redefine the future of Alzheimer’s #treatment.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
 • Why Alzheimer’s is so complex and why traditional #treatments struggle to stop its progression
 • How #neuroinflammation drives the disease, reshaping the #brain long before symptoms appear
 • How early #biomarkers can reveal Alzheimer’s up to 10 years in advance, improving detection and intervention
 • The future of personalized Alzheimer’s #treatment, from #genetics to targeted #immunotherapies
 • How tunneling nanotubes and #immune pathways may transform our understanding of #neurodegeneration
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us for exciting neuroscience content.
🔗Link to our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/neurosciencebeyond
#AlzheimersResearch #Neuroscience #BrainHealth #SystemsBiomedicine #NeurosciencePodcast
Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286
Neuroscience and Beyond team:
Svilen Georgiev
Kristina Jevdokimenko
Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı
Mels Akhmetali
Laura van Agen