Optogenetics: Controlling the Brain with Light [Extended Version]

Noninvasive brain control: New light-sensitive protein enables simpler, more powerful optogenetics -- ScienceDaily Optogenetics, a technology that allows scientists to control brain activity by shining light on neurons, relies on light-sensitive proteins that can suppress or stimulate electrical signals within cells. This technique requires a light source to be implanted in the brain, where it can reach the cells to be controlled. MIT engineers have now developed the first light-sensitive molecule that enables neurons to be silenced noninvasively, using a light source outside the skull. This makes it possible to do long-term studies without an implanted light source. The protein, known as Jaws, also allows a larger volume of tissue to be influenced at once. This noninvasive approach could pave the way to using optogenetics in human patients to treat epilepsy and other neurological disorders, the researchers say, although much more testing and development is needed. Mining nature's diversity To find a better alternative, Boyden, graduate student Amy Chuong, and colleagues turned to the natural world.

Optogenetics in monkeys | Human Frontier Science Program Rhesus monkeys are a unique model for investigating the neural correlates of highly cognitive functions and fine motor control. Optogenetics is a new technique using optical excitation and inhibition of specific neuron types based on their expression or projection patterns. With the aim to combine both fields, the authors adapted optogenetic tools to the specific requirements of non-human primate research. This opens the door for a multitude of new scientific experiments investigating causal relationships between neural activities, connections between brain areas, and complex behaviors which can only be studied in non-human-primates. HFSP Long-Term Fellow Ilka Diester and colleaguesauthored on Tue, 08 February 2011 Rhesus monkeys are a unique model for investigating the neural correlates of highly cognitive functions and fine motor control. The aim of this study was to help enable safe, reliable, and effective new experiments using tools designed specifically for non-human primates.

Optogenetics: A wireless, optical router for your brain Ready for the Bleeding Edge Science Word of the Day? Optogenetics. It’s even weirder than it sounds, too: optogenetics is the manipulation of a cell’s functions with light (usually lasers). Today, American startup Kendall Research has announced that it has made a wireless optogenetics device that the company’s founder calls “a wireless router for the brain.” To understand the importance of optogenetics, and to marvel at the magic of hooking your brain up to a network with a wireless router, we have to first look at how researchers currently investigate cell function, and thus just how groundbreakingly different the optogenetic approach is. At the moment, the only real way to investigate animal cells is to knock out a function, usually by breeding a genetically engineered mutant. Now, back to the “wireless router” claim. As far as humans are concerned, optogenetics are probably the key to Matrix-like “I want to learn Kung Fu!” Read more at Technology Review

Optogenetics and genomic tools make it possible to pinpoint the source of memory, consciousness, and emotions. What might be called the “make love, not war” branch of behavioral neuroscience began to take shape in (where else?) California several years ago, when researchers in David J. Anderson’s laboratory at Caltech decided to tackle the biology of aggression. They initiated the line of research by orchestrating the murine version of Fight Night: they goaded male mice into tangling with rival males and then, with painstaking molecular detective work, zeroed in on a smattering of cells in the hypothalamus that became active when the mice started to fight. The hypothalamus is a small structure deep in the brain that, among other functions, coördinates sensory inputs—the appearance of a rival, for example—with instinctual behavioral responses. By 2010, Anderson’s Caltech lab had begun to tease apart the underlying mechanisms and neural circuitry of aggression in their pugnacious mice. That was a provocative discovery, but it was also a relic of old-style neuroscience. Connections Eavesdropping

LIGHT-GUIDING HYDROGEL DEVICES FOR CELL-BASED SENSING AND THERAPY - THE GENERAL HOSPITAL CORPORATION The present patent application claims priority from and benefit of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/892,535 filed on 18 Oct. 2013 and titled “Light-Guiding Hydrogel Implants for Cell-Based Sensing and Therapy.” The present application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/239,607 filed on Feb. 19, 2014 and titled “Systems and Methods for Facilitating Optical Processes in a Biological Tissue”. This invention was made with government support under Grants Numbers NIH R21 EB013761, NSF ECS-1101947, DOD FA9550-10-1-0537 awarded by the National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, and Department of Defense. As the autonomous building block of the body, cells are known to have abilities to sense the local ambient environment and respond to external chemical and physical cues. Light offers an attractive means of communication with the cells in the biological system. Fabrication and Characterization of a Polymer Hydrogel Body. Discussion

Defeat Lyme disease without antibiotics (NaturalHealth365) Let’s be blunt: Western medicine will never really cure Lyme disease because the focus (like everything they do) is on symptoms, not the underlying cause. In fact, sadly, if you’ve been suffering with Lyme disease for some time, you’ve probably been labeled with a mental illness and largely ignored by conventionally-trained physicians. Defeat Lyme disease without harmful medications. Simply sign up now for access to our free, weekly show by entering your email address and you’ll receive show times plus FREE gifts! According to the Centers for Disease Control, up to 300,000 people get Lyme – every year! Lyme is actually cause by a weak immune system, damaged cellular function, uncontrolled bacterial infections throughout the body and other environmental triggers such as, mold and parasites. Bottom line, to cure Lyme disease (naturally) – one MUST improve immune function, cellular metabolism, eliminate toxins and reduce stress. He goes on to say … “Dr. Food & Nutrition

Piezoelectricity - How does it work? | What is it used for? by Chris Woodford. Last updated: August 11, 2017. You've probably used piezoelectricity (pronounced "pee-ay-zo-electricity") quite a few times today. If you've got a quartz watch, piezoelectricity is what helps it keep regular time. If you've been writing a letter or an essay on your computer with the help of voice recognition software, the microphone you spoke into probably used piezoelectricity to turn the sound energy in your voice into electrical signals your computer could interpret. If you're a bit of an audiophile and like listening to music on vinyl, your gramophone would have been using piezoelectricity to "read" the sounds from your LP records. Photo: A piezoelectric actuator used by NASA for various kinds of testing. What is piezoelectricity? Squeeze certain crystals (such as quartz) and you can make electricity flow through them. What causes piezoelectricity? Artwork: What scientists mean by a crystal: the regular, repeating arrangement of atoms in a solid.

Astronauts find living organisms clinging to the International Space Station, and aren’t sure how they got there During a spacewalk intended to clean the International Space Station, Russian astronauts took samples from the exterior of the station for a routine analysis. The results of the experiment were quite surprising. Astronauts expected to find nothing more than contaminants created by the engines of incoming and outgoing spacecraft, but instead found that living organisms were clinging to outside of the ISS. The astronauts identified the organisms as sea plankton that likely originated from Earth, but the team couldn’t find a concrete explanation as to how these organisms made it all the way up to the space station — or how they managed to survive. A colorized scanning electron micrograph of a tardigrade. Though NASA has so far been unable to confirm whether or not the Russians truly did discover sea plankton clinging to the exterior of the station, there is some precedent for certain creatures being able to survive the vacuum of space. The International Space Station

Bugs in Space / Space In Bytes / Education / ESA All astronauts need to be in good health in order to endure physical and psychological challenges during a space flight. However, like all other humans, astronauts can be vulnerable to infectious diseases. Microbes and other “bugs” can cause infectious disease and may seriously affect a person’s health. There are many kinds of micro-organisms that can cause health problems:1. Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria 2. 3. Out of this world Fungus Trichophyton rubrum In space, where astronauts are working in a confined environment and with limited supplies of water on experiments requiring strict containment, the control of any contamination becomes even more critical. On the ISS – including the European Columbus laboratory – samples are taken regularly to check the microbes on board. There are many space-related experiments taking place in the field of microbiology to investigate the effects of weightlessness and radiation on micro-organisms. Tube worms feeding at the base of a black smoker

about electromagnetic torture, mind control, and remote neural monitoring by/in The U.S.A. – by TIMOTHYTRESPAS | Tortured, Drugged & Bugged! Targeting, Gang-Stalking, Covert Drugging, HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION, Morgellons Microwaves, Energetic, Entomological, I simply had to repost some of the best information I have seen to date about mind control. this is from please visit their site. good luck! “Give me the money and three months…and I’ll be able to affect the behavior of 80% of the people in this town without their knowing it. Make them happy – or at least they’ll think they’re happy. Or aggressive.” – Dr. Elizabeth Rauscher-BiseCommunity…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Here you can read about what some individuals and groups are doing to address various aspects of organized mind control. Or this, if you prefer the religious version. “Paranoia is just knowing all the facts” – William S. Do these look like airline “vapor trails”? Brains watching brains watching brains. Disclaimer………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Applicable Law Use of the Website You must not hack into, change or otherwise interfere with the operation of the Website or any information contained within it.

Piezoelectricity Piezoelectricity is exploited in a number of useful applications, such as the production and detection of sound, generation of high voltages, electronic frequency generation, microbalances, to drive an ultrasonic nozzle, and ultrafine focusing of optical assemblies. It forms the basis for a number of scientific instrumental techniques with atomic resolution, the scanning probe microscopies, such as STM, AFM, MTA, and SNOM. It also finds everyday uses such as acting as the ignition source for cigarette lighters, and push-start propane barbecues, as well as being used as the time reference source in quartz watches. History[edit] Discovery and early research[edit] The pyroelectric effect, by which a material generates an electric potential in response to a temperature change, was studied by Carl Linnaeus and Franz Aepinus in the mid-18th century. A piezoelectric disk generates a voltage when deformed (change in shape is greatly exaggerated) World War I and post-war[edit] Mechanism[edit]

Insomnia: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments Insomnia is a sleep disorder that millions of people worldwide have to live with. Individuals with insomnia find it difficult to either fall asleep and/or stay asleep. Insomnia commonly leads to daytime sleepiness, lethargy and a general feeling of being unwell both mentally and physically. At the end of each section you may see details on recent developments that have been covered by MNT's news stories. What is insomnia? According to a survey by the National Sleep Association, 22% of US people say they experience insomnia every or almost every night. Insomnia includes a wide range of sleeping disorders, from lack of quality of sleep to lack of quantity of sleep. Insomnia is commonly separated into three types: Transient insomnia - occurs when symptoms lasts from a few days to some weeks. Although insomnia can affect people at any age, it is more common in adult females than adult males. What causes insomnia? Insomnia can be caused by physical factors as well as psychological factors.