Light Up the Brain with Dead Sea Bugs
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:51 pm
[quote=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... res-health]
Cohen’s work is based on a single-celled organism from the Dead Sea, Halorubrum sodomense, which has a protein that converts light into energy. While similar proteins had been used by other researchers to stimulate mice brains with light, Cohen had a different idea: Could he run the protein in reverse, so it would sense electricity and turn it into light?
If his idea worked, researchers might be able to visualize electrical activity in neurons, the cells that are key components of the brain, spinal cord and central nervous system.
For decades, scientists have struggled to find a way to monitor neural conversations, stymied by the complexity and the delicate nature of the brain, which makes it difficult to access.[/quote]
Cohen’s work is based on a single-celled organism from the Dead Sea, Halorubrum sodomense, which has a protein that converts light into energy. While similar proteins had been used by other researchers to stimulate mice brains with light, Cohen had a different idea: Could he run the protein in reverse, so it would sense electricity and turn it into light?
If his idea worked, researchers might be able to visualize electrical activity in neurons, the cells that are key components of the brain, spinal cord and central nervous system.
For decades, scientists have struggled to find a way to monitor neural conversations, stymied by the complexity and the delicate nature of the brain, which makes it difficult to access.[/quote]