How data is helping us unravel the mysteries of the brain

The brain is built and composed of billions of cells that are all doing highly specialized jobs. However, compared to other systems in the body, we don’t know much about this complex organ and everything that goes on within it. As a result, there hasn’t been the same kind of profound medical progress for the treatment of brain illnesses as we’ve seen for treating other systems within the body.
Geneticist Steven McCarroll views this problem from a unique angle-he sees the brain and all its complexities as a big data opportunity. So, at his Harvard Medical School lab, Steven and his team set out to develop technologies that use computers in powerful new ways to make sense of the brain, uncovering which cells and molecules matter in different brain illnesses. Watch Steven’s 2017 TEDMED Talk to learn how his research is driving data-driven scientific approaches and opening new opportunities in the treatment of mental illnesses.