The visible brain has arrived — the consistency of Jell-O, as transparent and colorful as a child’s model, but vastly more useful.

Scientists at Stanford University reported on Wednesday that they have made a whole mouse brain, and part of a human brain, transparent so that networks of neurons that receive and send information can be highlighted in stunning color and viewed in all their three-dimensional complexity without slicing up the organ.

Brains as Clear as Jell-O for Scientists to Explore via NYTimes.com