Optogenetics
Northwestern team develops wireless implant that ‘speaks’ to the brain with light
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Scientists at Northwestern University have created a soft, wireless brain implant that delivers patterned light directly to neurons, enabling mice to interpret these signals as meaningful cues without relying on sight, sound or touch. The fully implantable device uses an array of up to 64 micro-LEDs to generate complex activity patterns across the cortex, a development that could advance next-generation prosthetics and sensory therapies, according to Northwestern and Nature Neuroscience.
Scientists at EPFL have developed a technique called optovolution, using light to evolve proteins that switch states, sense environments, and perform computations. By engineering yeast cells to survive only if proteins behave dynamically, the method selects optimal variants rapidly. The approach, published in Cell, advances synthetic biology and optogenetics.