Scientists are launching a ‘moonshot’ project that will map the human brain in hopes of fighting disease

For many other researchers, creating a map of the 86 billion neurons, or nerve cells, that make up the brain would be considered an almost insurmountable project. However, researchers at the Allen Institute are pursuing just that task and say it will lay the foundation for a better understanding of how the brain functions the way it does.

Founded by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen in 2003, the Allen Institute was originally founded to map gene activity in the mouse brain, but researchers soon began incorporating studies of the human brain into their work. The nonprofit is home to ...