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‘Milestone’ Research Method Measures Gene Activity Across Whole Mice

Researchers at the University of Chicago have unveiled a whole‑body spatial transcriptomics method that slices frozen mice and maps gene expression across millions of cells in a single cross‑section. Using a cryomacrotome and 600,000 spatial spots, the technique captured activity of over 5,000 genes in 37 tissue sub‑regions after a bacterial toxin challenge. The approach promises to reveal organ‑wide drug effects and disease mechanisms that traditional single‑organ studies miss. While not single‑cell resolution, it represents a scale‑up of existing spatial sequencing technologies.