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news from the front lines of discovery
From scientific breakthroughs to new open‑source tools, the Allen Institute’s work is reshaping how science is done—and who it’s for. Explore the latest news, stories, and highlights from across our research, partnerships, and open science efforts.
Zapping the right brain cells: The path to improved stimulation
New findings could help scientists develop better ways to treat brain disorders with electrical stimulation.

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New research to understand how the brain handles optical illusions and makes predictions
3 new projects launch on OpenScope, a shared neuroscience observatory at the Allen Institute
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SciShots: The labyrinthian protein factory of the cell
Graphics software for microscope imagery lights up the endoplasmic reticulum
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science images

SciShots: How the brain plugs leaks
A delicate molecular dance maintains the blood-brain barrier, protecting the brain while allowing transport of necessary resources
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Why is the human brain so difficult to understand? We asked 4 neuroscientists.
Thoughts, memories, sensations - why are we still in the dark about how they work?
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SciShots: Gentle imaging for delicate cells
Examining fine cellular details for longer time periods
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SciShots: Modeling for the masses
New tool helps scientists see how E. coli finds its center
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Online simulations offer scientists new views inside cells
Simularium Viewer provides interactive visual outputs of computational, biological models
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SciShots: Rare kraken cell line released
Illuminating structures in Magnumlolligo glacies cells with unprecedented detail
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SciShots: One happy cell (nucleus)
Explorations of the nuclear envelope, the thin membrane surrounding a cell’s chromosomes, reveal unexpected wrinkles
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A day in the (neuroscience) life: OpenScope
Scientists on the OpenScope team help share the Allen Institute’s ‘observatory of the mind’ with the larger scientific community
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Biologists Get $100 Million From Billionaire Paul Allen To Investigate Cells
With a gift of $100 million from billionaire philanthropist Paul G. Allen, scientists will embark on an effort to understand how cells work and how they malfunction in disease. Leaders of this new endeavor announced the launch of the Seattle-based Allen Institute for Cell Science today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in Philadelphia.
Billionaire Paul Allen donates $100m to new ‘industrial scale’ effort to understand human cells
Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen is donating $100 million of his fortune to launch what he calls an “industrial-scale” effort to understand the basic building block of all living things: the cell.
Microsoft mogul to create new cell science center
Science - Eleven years after he established an institute dedicated to mapping the brain, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is announcing a sequel: the Allen Institute for Cell Science. Just like its predecessor, the new institute will be seeded with $100 million from Allen himself; will embrace big-team science, bringing together cell biologists, mathematicians, computational biologists, and other specialists; and will seek to decipher a world whose complexity is still largely uncharted.
