ETH researchers led by Professor Martin Fussenegger have developed the first gene network to be operated via brainwaves.
Depending on the user’s thoughts, it can produce various amounts of a desired molecule. The inspiration behind the project was a game that picks up brainwaves in order to guide a ball through an obstacle course.
It sounds like something from the scene in Star Wars where Master Yoda instructs the young Luke Skywalker to use the force to release his stricken X-Wing from the swamp: Marc Folcher and other researchers from the group led by Martin Fussenegger, Professor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering at the Department of Biosystems (D-BSSE) in Basel, have developed a novel gene regulation method that enables thought-specific brainwaves to control the conversion of genes into proteins – called gene expression in technical terms.
“For the first time, we have been able to tap into human brainwaves, transfer them wirelessly to a gene network and regulate the expression of a gene depending on the type of thought. Being able to control gene expression via the power of thought is a dream that we’ve been chasing for over a decade,” says Fussenegger.
A source of inspiration for the new thought-controlled gene regulation system was the game Mindflex, where the player wears a special headset with a sensor on the forehead that records brainwaves. The registered electroencephalogram (EEG) is then transferred into the playing environment. The EEG controls a fan that enables a small ball to be thought-guided through an obstacle course.
Wireless transmission to implant
The system, which the Basel-based bioengineers recently presented in the journal Nature Communications, also makes use of an EEG headset. The recorded brainwaves are analysed and wirelessly transmitted via Bluetooth to a controller, which in turn controls a field generator that generates an electromagnetic field; this supplies an implant with an induction current.
A light then literally goes on in the implant: an integrated LED lamp that emits light in the near-infrared range turns on and illuminates a culture chamber containing genetically modified cells. When the near-infrared light illuminates the cells, they start to produce the desired protein.
The Latest on: Gene expression
[google_news title=”” keyword=”gene expression” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Gene expression
- AI deciphers new gene regulatory code in plants and makes accurate predictions for newly sequenced genomeson April 26, 2024 at 9:05 am
Genome sequencing technology provides thousands of new plant genomes annually. In agriculture, researchers merge this genomic information with observational data (measuring various plant traits) to ...
- Genomic analysis of a species of zooplankton questions assumptions about speciation and gene regulationon April 26, 2024 at 6:40 am
When two animals look the same, eat the same, behave the same way, and live in similar environments, one might expect that they belong to the same species.
- Link between depression and cardiovascular disease explained: They partly develop from same gene moduleon April 24, 2024 at 9:20 pm
Depression and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are serious concerns for public health. Approximately 280 million people worldwide have depression, while 620 million people have CVD.
- Researchers identify novel gene networks associated with aggressive type of breast canceron April 24, 2024 at 11:10 am
Breast cancer is the second-most common cancer diagnosis for U.S. women, and the second-leading cause of female cancer deaths. In recent years, breast cancer treatments have improved significantly, ...
- GU Medical Center Distinguished Scientist Seminar Series Illuminates Uses of Gene Editing in Cancer Researchon April 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm
In addition to using gene editing to cut DNA, scientists can also use gene editing to modify gene expression, the process through which proteins are made from genes, according to Chari. “This whole ...
- Researchers report on mechanisms of gene regulatory divergence between specieson April 23, 2024 at 8:47 am
Closely related animal species can look physically different, but you might be surprised to learn that those differences can result not only from DNA sequence changes that alter proteins' structure or ...
- Duke team completes ten-year study on gene expression in stem cellson April 18, 2024 at 5:19 pm
To explore how stem cells decide to divide into copies of themselves or make new cells, the group researched the expression of stem cells in plants by developing a specialized microscope that takes ...
- Gene Expression Score May Guide Treatment in Uveal Melanomaon April 18, 2024 at 7:30 am
A gene expression score may be able to predict outcomes of adoptive cell therapy and prevent unnecessary surgeries in patients with uveal melanoma, researchers say.
- Gene Expression News and Researchon April 17, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Researchers identified how SARS-CoV-2 targets and manipulates specific lung cells, using innovative techniques to trace the virus's impact on the cells' gene expression, revealing insights into ...
- Mutated Histone-Modifying Gene Leads to Autism in Miceon April 10, 2024 at 1:39 am
Now, researchers from Japan have developed an animal model and elucidated the mechanism by which mutation in genes involved in chromatin modification causes autism. They have also discovered a drug ...
via Bing News