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Phoenix666 writes:

Scientists have examined a protein that will find application in optogenetics and could be used to control muscle and neuronal cells. The paper on the light-sensitive NsXeRprotein of the xenorhodopsin class was published in Science Advances by the international team of researchers from MIPT, Forschungszentrum Jülich, and Institut de Biologie Structurale.

Optogenetics is a new technique that uses light to control neurons or muscle cells in living tissue. It has found wide application in nervous system studies. Optogenetic manipulations are so precise that they make it possible to control individual neurons by switching certain information transfer pathways on or off. Similar methods are also used to partially reverse eyesight or hearing loss as well as to control muscle contractions.

The main tools of optogenetics are light-sensitive proteins that are intentionally inserted into particular cells. After the insertion, the protein becomes attached to the cell surface and moves ions across the membrane upon exposure to light. Thus, in a modified neuron cell, a correctly chosen light impulse may activate a neural signal or, on the contrary, suppress all the signals, depending on which protein is used. By activating signals from individual neurons, it is possible to imitate the functioning of certain brain regions—a technique that modulates the behavior of the organism under study. If such proteins are inserted in muscle cells, an external signal can tense or relax them.

The technique could permit scientists direct control of neurons and muscle cells in a target organism. How long before the researchers use it to play the "Stop Hitting Yourself!" game?

Original Submission