Optogenetics

A little bit of history Have you ever wondered how your brain and neurons work? Throughout decades neurologists have been wondering how our cognitive actions are related to neuron actions. To study these questions scientists firstly used time-consuming pharmacological electro stimulation methods to control neuron activity. But usually results were imprecise. …

How we’re using lasers to study the brain — and leave it better than we found it — Your brain is an unbelievably complex machine. Inside your head sits a gelatinous blob of cells that has more synapses than there are stars in the universe, and computing speed beyond the dreams of today’s fastest supercomputer — all the while chugging less power than it takes to run a…

This is not a clickbait (practically); it’s optogenetics, about which we are now going to talk. — But be warned right away: I am not your biology teacher, so I don’t want you to get confused by all the information. Let’s go! Optogenetics is a technique for studying how nerve cells work using special channels that respond to light. Hmmm…Not much information. Go back 300 years. There…

The human brain is made out of hundreds of billions of cells called neurons. Neurons communicate using electrical signals. There are thousands of different types of neurons each with a unique shape and connection pattern. If we can understand the types of neurons and how they are connected, we might…

Control your brain with light! — The human brain is the most complex part of the body, composed of about 86 billion neurons- which is about the number of stars in the milky way! Each neuron uses tiny electrical impulses and chemical signals to transmit information between different areas in the brain and nervous system. Now…

This article is aimed to help you understand the new technology of Optogenetics from the fundamentals of biology so that you can build knowledge, rather than accumulate discrete facts. All explanations have been included under a heading, so feel free to skip the ones you are already familiar with. Some…

Written By: Zara Ali Introduction How do our brains work? This is a question that has sparked the interest of scientists for centuries, leading to a slew of studies and methods for analyzing and testing the brain to better understand how it works. Scientists are learning more about how our brain…

Imagine if the cure for diseases such as Parkinson’s, anxiety, depression or OCD was not found in a drug or vaccine but rather light. Although it sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, it’s becoming more and more of a reality thanks to a field called optogenetics. How Does…

In 15 days, Marvel’s Moon Knight will be released and I couldn’t be more excited. Ever since the trailer, I’ve been counting down the days until the release of this psychological thriller. From the cinematography to the soundtrack, Moon Knight seems to be one of the darker Marvel shows —…