Ever wondered what’s going on in the tiny mind of a newborn baby, or how a footballer takes that perfect kick? Or even why brain scanning kits often look like mental torture instruments from a sci-fi B-movie? I met some researchers yesterday from University College London who are shedding light on (most of) these questions using new optical imaging systems that can probe beneath our skin. What stands out about these systems is far greater clarity – you can actually see a 3-D map of individual blood vessels and tell from the colour how oxygenated the blood is. They are...