Whole-Body Imaging Unmasks Real-Time Cellular Dialogue Across a Living Organism
Researchers unveiled WHOLISTIC, a whole-organism live-imaging method that makes nearly every cell express fluorescent calcium sensors to watch real-time signaling across an entire body, first demonstrated in transparent zebrafish and Danionella cerebrum. The technique links brain, muscles, and organ systems in a single animal, reveals unexpected activity in cartilage cells and meninges, and promises a platform for studying physiology, neuroscience, and behavior across the body.