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Summary: The newly developed system uses wireless technology to remotely activate certain brain networks in fruit flies in less than a second. Source: Rice University A research team led by Rice University neuroscientists has created wireless technology to remotely activate certain brain circuits in fruit flies in less than a second. In a demonstration published in Natural Ingredients Researchers from Rice, Duke University, Brown University and Baylor College of Medicine used magnetic signals to activate target neurons that control the body position of fruit flies that move freely in the cage. “To study the brain or to treat neurological disorders, the scientific community is looking for tools that are highly precise, but also minimally invasive,” said study author Jacob Robinson, a professor in electrical and computer engineering at Rice and a member of Rice’s Neuroengineering Initiative. “Remote control of certain neural circuits with magnetic fields is the holy grai...

Researchers from Rice University, Duke University, Brown University and Baylor College of Medicine developed magnetic technology to wirelessly control neural circuits in fruit flies. They used genetic engineering to express heat-sensitive ion channels in neurons that control behavior and iron nanoparticles to activate the channels. When the researchers activated the magnetic field in the fly cage, the nanoparticles converted the magnetic energy into heat, firing channels and activating neurons. An overhead camera filmed the fly during the experiment, and visual analysis showed the genetically modified fly assumed a wing-spreading posture about half a second after receiving the magnetic signal. Credit: C. Sebesta and J. Robinson/Rice University A research team led by Rice University neuroscientists has created wireless technology to remotely activate certain brain circuits in fruit flies in less than a second. ...