Harvard Scientists Control and Steer Live Worms Using Laser Light
Researchers at Harvard have figured out how to manipulate the actions of nematode worms sans wires or electrodes, opening the door to a better understanding of how just a few neurons can influence behavior in animals. Scientists at the university's Center for Brain Science have successfully taken over the nervous systems of the tiny nematode C. elegans using nothing but laser light. The system, known as CoLBeRT for Controlling Locomotion and Behavior in Real-Time (and named for comedian Stephen Colbert, who manipulates audiences with the glow of their TV monitors) takes advantage of nematodes that express a gene for particular light-sensitive ion channel proteins that are similar to proteins found in the human eye. The system then requires the nematodes to be genetically modified to respond to certain commands, a process that's relatively simple as C. elegans has only 302 neurons. Related ArticlesHow Modified Worms and Goats Can Mass-Produce Nature's Toughest FiberScientists...