32 SCIENCE NEWS | February 27, 2021CAJAL EMBROIDERY PROJECT, TOP ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): LIZ RIBCHESTER, KATIE ASKEW, JANET PHILP; MIDDLE ROW: CAROL COLEMAN, JANE HALEY, EMMA PERKINS; BOTTOM ROW: NIKI STYPIDOU, MELANIE STEFAN, ALISON TODDSCIENCE VISUALIZEDIn the late 1800s, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, a Spanish brain
scientist, spent long hours in his attic drawing elaborate
cells. His careful, solitary work helped reveal individual
cells of the brain that together create wider networks. For
those insights, Cajal received a Nobel Prize in physiology or
medicine in 1906. Now, a group of embroiderers has traced
those iconic cell images with thread, paying tribute to the
pioneering drawings that helped us see the brain clearly.
The Cajal Embroidery Project was launched in March
2020 by scientists at the University of Edinburgh. More than
100 volunteers — scientists, artists and embroiderers — sewed
panels (nine shown) that will ultimately be stitched into aIconic brain cell sketches, embroidered
tapestry, a project described in the December issue of Lancet
Neurology.
The panels, each about 23 centimeters on a side, re-create a
variety of brain cells. For instance, nerve cells called Purkinje
cells (top row, middle) collect incoming signals with their lush
tendrils before sending along their own quieting signals.
Cajal’s drawings are still relevant, says neuroscientist and
project cofounder Catherine Abbott. Even with powerful
microscopes, our views of nerve cells look pretty much the
same today. And that thread ties the embroiderers to Cajal’s
work, she says. “We are looking at the same thing and feeling
the same sense of wonder.” — Laura Sanderssci vis.indd 32sci vis.indd 32 2/10/21 9:49 AM2/10/21 9:49 AM