In a typical study, the red, yellow, and blue neurons in this image of a developing fly's nerve cord would never be seen together, but would instead be spread across many samples, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, leaving scientists to imagine what they might look like in the intact fly.

“It is a real revelation to see them actually next to each other, at the same time,” says Salecker. “To see them as they are, with their neighbors—it makes a huge difference.”

Credit: Dafni Hadjieconomou and Iris Salecker/NPG