neural stimulator

Researchers from Rice University, Duke University, Brown University and Baylor College of Medicine developed a magnetic technology to wirelessly control neural circuits in fruit flies. They used genetic engineering to express heat-sensitive ion channels in neurons that control the behavior and iron nanoparticles to activate the channels. When researchers activated a magnetic field in the flies’ enclosure, the nanoparticles converted magnetic energy to heat, firing the channels and activating the neurons. An overhead camera filmed flies during experiments, and a visual analysis showed flies with the genetic modifications assumed the wing-spread posture within approximately half a second of receiving the magnetic signal. (Figure courtesy of C. Sebesta and J. Robinson/Rice University)
Progress: Methods for activating specific regions of the brain in humans for therapeutic purposes without ever having to perform surgery
Researchers from Rice University, Duke University, Brown University and Baylor College of Medicine developed a
A tiny magnetically powered neural stimulator can treat many conditions
A sample of Rice University’s “magnetoelectric” film atop a bed of uncooked rice. Rice neuroengineers