Now, a team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) and Illumina, Inc., has completed the first large-scale assessment of the way thousands of single neuronal nuclei produce proteins from genetic information ("transcription") – revealing a surprising diversity in the process. The findings could improve both our understanding of the brain's normal functioning and how it's damaged by diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS and depression.