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Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Brain Cells Made To See The Light
Brain cells taken from rats have been modified to detect light by US scientists hoping to find a treatment for retinal degeneration:
The research appears in the current issue of Nature Neuroscience ('Light-activated ion channels for remote control of neuronal firing', Banghart, M. and others, Nature Neuroscience Volume 7, Number 12, pp 1381 - 1386).
Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have given "blind" nerve cells the ability to detect light, paving the way for an innovative therapy that could restore sight to those who have lost it through disease.
A team lead by neurobiologist Richard H. Kramer, UC Berkeley professor of molecular and cell biology, and Dirk Trauner, assistant professor of chemistry, inserted a light-activated switch into brain cells normally insensitive to light, enabling the researchers to turn the cells on with green light and turn them off with ultraviolet light.
'"Blind" cells see the light; maybe someday humans will, too', University of California, Berkeley press release, 22 November 2004.
The research appears in the current issue of Nature Neuroscience ('Light-activated ion channels for remote control of neuronal firing', Banghart, M. and others, Nature Neuroscience Volume 7, Number 12, pp 1381 - 1386).
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