26 min listen
Shedding Light on the Brain
FromDiscovery
ratings:
Length:
27 minutes
Released:
May 18, 2015
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Biologists are using light to explore the brain - and to alter it. Roland Pease meets some of the leading players in optogenetics, who use light-sensitive molecules to take direct control of neural systems in worms, flies, and maybe one day, humans. For some, it's a way of exploring the interplay of electricity and chemistry as neuron talks to neuron in complex brains. For others it opens the way to future therapies for conditions like motor neuron disease, in which dying nerves bring about paralysis, and epilepsy, brought about by runaway oscillations in brain waves.
(Photo: Elegans nemotodes, or round worms, undergo examination by project scientists at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Getty Images)
(Photo: Elegans nemotodes, or round worms, undergo examination by project scientists at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Getty Images)
Released:
May 18, 2015
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
05/10/2010 GMT: Medical sleuths in West Africa make startling discoveries that could change child health care worldwide. by Discovery