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No laboratory building is in plain sight and, after 4 years of furious activity, the most visible changes on the property are four squat, cylindrical towers sheathed in corrugated metal.
Appearances are deceptive. In fact, Janelia Farm is poised to begin operation, with the first group of neuroscientists, physicists, and computer scientists expected to move into their laboratories by midsummer. Some will aim to trace neuronal circuits responsible for complex behavior while their colleagues invent new microscopes for functional imaging to blaze the trail.
Inside the low-profile, terraced structure that looks out toward the Potomac River, the atmosphere has been anything but calm. Equipment, laboratory cabinets, and furniture have been pouring in for months, and are being installed by several hundred workmen.
A reshaped landscape is forming around the research building. More than 100 different types of plants and trees are being put in place, drawn from sources around the country and the world. They range from Little Bluestem prairie grasses (native to North America) and Dawn Redwood trees (presumed extinct until rediscovered in China) to three century-old spreading yews that once formed part of a maze in the State of Washington.
Photo: Paul Fetters
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