Those
mad neuroscientists, they'll
never learn, but maybe in the end we'll all be better off for it.
Wired has put together an extremely intriguing write-up of the short history of optogenetics -- featuring a German pond scum researcher, a Nobel Prize winner, and rat brains controlled by beams of light. Optogenetics is a relatively new technique for communicating with the brain, which involves the implantation of particular light-sensitive genes into animals with the purpose of repairing neurological ailments through light therapy (no, not
that kind). By hooking up fiber-optic cables to the affected area of the brain, researchers have been able to completely restore movement in mice with Parkinson's disease and their current efforts revolve around developing a less invasive method that doesn't go deeper than the outer surface of the brain. Most revolutionary of all, perhaps, is the eventual possibility for two-way traffic (i.e. a machine being able to both send
and receive information from the brain), which brings all those
cyborg dreams of ours closer to becoming a reality than ever before. Hit up the read link for the full dish.
Filed under: Science
Optogenetics hold the key to future brain disease cures, still creep us out originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Brain, brain activity, brain disease, brain function, BrainActivity, BrainDisease, BrainFunction, fiber optic, FiberOptic, Genetics, Health, Medicine, Mind, mind control, MindControl, neural, neural cells, NeuralCells, Neurons, Neuroscience, optogenetics, Peter Hegemann, PeterHegemann, plant genes, PlantGenes, Research, Roger Tsien, RogerTsien, Stanford, Stanford university, StanfordUniversity
It's not every year that the Nobel Prize in Physics falls within our
scope of coverage, but this year turned out to a big exception, as the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has deemed it fit to recognize two breakthroughs in the fiber optics and digital photography. The first of those (and half of the $1.4 million prize) goes to Charles K. Kao, whose work in the mid-60s getting light to travel long distances through glass strands made the fiber optic cables we have today possible. The second half of the prize is divided between Canadian Willard S. Boyle and American George E. Smith, who both worked at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, and invented the so-called charge-coupled device semiconductor, better known to anyone that has ever looked at a digital camera spec list as a
CCD.
[Image courtesy
Nobelprize.org]
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Science
Nobel Prize in Physics shared by CCD inventors, fiber optics pioneer originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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bell laboratories, bell labs, BellLaboratories, BellLabs, ccd, charles k. kao, charles kao, CharlesK.Kao, CharlesKao, fiber optic, Fiber Optics, FiberOptic, FiberOptics, geoge smith, GeogeSmith, george e. smith, GeorgeE.Smith, nobel, nobel prize, nobel prize in physics, NobelPrize, NobelPrizeInPhysics, Science, willard boyle, willard s. boyle, WillardBoyle, WillardS.Boyle
Stanford scientists discover that by changing a mouse's neurons to respond to light, they could use fiber optic cables to influence the mouse to do certain things. The trick is to insert plant genes into the brain first.
