@macshine.bsky.social talks with @melcooperphd.bsky.social about her new work showing that astrocytes—long dismissed as the brain’s housekeepers—are wired together in precise, long-range networks that remodel in response to experience. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/astrocytes/t...

How a hidden network of astrocytes shapes the brain

Astrocytes are wired together in precise, long-range networks that remodel in response to experience, according to new research.

thetransmitter.org

Interested in finding your own astrocyte networks? The plasmid is now available on Addgene! www.addgene.org/252501/ Check out how we implemented it in this paper, published in Nature: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Need extra guidance? Watch this space for a more detailed protocol paper soon!

⭐ In a new publication @nature.com, postdoctoral researcher Melissa Cooper has shown that astrocytes share a network of communication that selectively connects multiple brain regions across hemispheres. @melcooperphd.bsky.social

Melissa Cooper, PhD@melcooperphd.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Astrocytes do so much more than any of us thought - they even communicate among specific brain regions across hemispheres! The journey to this paper spanned nearly a decade, but I'm most excited to see what everyone else does with the tools we've built. There's so much for all of us to explore!

Webs of astrocytes connect distant parts of the brain, allowing long-distance exchange of molecules go.nature.com/41QDgYD

Newfound brain network is a ‘secret system’ made of helper cells

Webs of star-shaped cells called astrocytes connect distant parts of the brain, allowing long-distance exchange of molecules.

go.nature.com

Nature research paper: Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks go.nature.com/4eBe8fV

Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks - Nature

Communication between distant brain regions is mediated by plastic networks of gap junction-coupled astrocytes.

go.nature.com

Feeling like learning about a secret astrocyte network in the brain? Check out the latest from @melcooperphd.bsky.social in @nature.com. www.nature.com/articles/s41... (take two because I'm out of action on the socials!)

Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks - Nature

Communication between distant brain regions is mediated by plastic networks of gap junction-coupled astrocytes.

nature.com

Astrocytes do so much more than any of us thought - they even communicate among specific brain regions across hemispheres! The journey to this paper spanned nearly a decade, but I'm most excited to see what everyone else does with the tools we've built. There's so much for all of us to explore!

Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks - Nature

Communication between distant brain regions is mediated by plastic networks of gap junction-coupled astrocytes.

nature.com

I'll be giving a talk this afternoon at #ASN2026! If you love astrocytes, microscopy, or new insights on glial cross-hemispheric communication come check it out. Ballroom CD, 4:55 CST. See you there!

@sfn.org #SfN25 #SanDiego starts this Saturday. The lab is going to be there in full force - see our presentations below. Represented this year by @borderbiologist.bsky.social, Nick Kathman, @mrodea.bsky.social, @melcooperphd.bsky.social, @pryprk.bsky.social, @kerrylimberg.bsky.social. (1/2)

A big thank you to The Transmitter and @callimcflurry.bsky.social for the spotlight on our preprint! You can check out her article below, or the preprint here: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Astrocytes are connected by gap junctions in large, plastic networks that link brain regions not connected by neurons, a new preprint shows. By @callimcflurry.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/astrocytes/a...

Thank you to the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (@bbrfoundation.bsky.social) for selecting me for a Young Investigator Award! I'm so excited to explore astrocyte networks in a new context.

Now on bioRxiv! Astrocytes in one brain region (cyan) communicate in expansive networks (magenta). Through tool development, tissue clearing, and many hours on our @zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social Z1, we now know these networks are repeatable across mice, plastic, and specific. doi.org/10.1101/2025...

@lsfm-na.bsky.social Is this heaven, or am I just currently surrounded by ELEVEN DIFFERENT LIGHT SHEET MICROSCOPES? So thrilled to be out here in Acadia chatting about microscopy!

Hippocampal vasculature is so pretty 😍 (mouse hippocampus perfused with Tomato Lectin and cleared) #Neuroscience #Microscopy

An old favorite of mine - this retinal astrocyte (GFAP) looks like it’s dancing among blood vessels. #science #glia #microscopy

Imaging these astrocytes on the surface of cleared brains was a blast!

UK Dementia Research Institute@ukdri.ac.uk · last yr.

A new study led by @philiphasel.bsky.social reveals the unique genetic profile of astrocytes that form the glia limitans superficialis (GLS), the thin layer of cells that covers the brain and spinal cord 🧠 Dr Hasel spoke to @thetransmitter.bsky.social about his work⬇️

Excited to share our latest paper! We argue that in MS, the primary immune attack isn’t on myelin or myelinated axons — but on the ion & water homeostasis machinery in astrocyte endfeet. A short thread on this new perspective 1/11

Nature Reviews Neurology@natrevneurol.nature.com · last yr.

New online! Multiple sclerosis: an immune attack on astrocyte-mediated ion and water homeostasis

We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.

The Coming Out of a Transgender Scientist

"I know that I am making the right decision because whenever I think about changing my gender role, I am flooded with feelings of relief."

thereader.mitpress.mit.edu

Thank you to the authors of a lovely commentary on our recent PNAS paper! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Bilateral astrocyte reaction to unilateral insult in the optic projection to the brain | PNAS

Bilateral astrocyte reaction to unilateral insult in the optic projection to the brain

pnas.org

Does anyone know which SPINES (or similar) seminar series would still be open for applications next year?

I enrolled in a vaccine clinical trial recently, and I’m so glad I did. Going in for ~30 min to get a blood draw and chat with people who are hopeful about curing diseases has felt like a lovely little act of resistance. Highly recommend checking with your local hospital if you feel the same way ❤️

Fresh off the press! We found that degeneration in one retina causes astrocytes to respond retinotopically across *both* hemispheres of the brain. Perhaps astrocytes across the CNS are able to coordinate their responses more than we anticipated... www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Our new work on astrocyte responses in glaucoma is out today! A tour de force of tissue clearing and analysis by @melcooperphd.bsky.social. It's one of those stories that leads to even more great questions, so stay tuned!

Hello, everyone! Please enjoy one of my favorite micrographs while I finally get set up over here. Vasculature (magenta, perfused lectin), GFAP (cyan), and cx43 (green) in a conditional astrocyte cx43 knockout mouse, demonstrating that cx43 is lost from astrocytes but not pericytes after tamoxifen.