Baby diapers inspired this new way to study the brain
Ed Boyden at TEDSummit 2016
![](https://mcgovern.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/01-ed-boyden_bv07-1.jpg)
TEDSummit June 2016
Neuroengineer Ed Boyden wants to know how the tiny biomolecules in our brains generate emotions, thoughts and feelings — and he wants to find the molecular changes that lead to disorders like epilepsy and Alzheimer’s. Rather than magnify these invisible structures with a microscope, he wondered: What if we physically enlarge them and make them easier to see? Learn how the same polymers used to make baby diapers swell could be a key to better understanding our brains.