Neuron Light Switch Now Goes “On” and “Off” | MIT Technology Review

Neuron Light Switch Now Goes “On” and “Off” | MIT Technology Review: Now, two research groups have engineered new optogenetic proteins that can be used to efficiently silence neurons... His group’s new “off” switch for neurons was created by changing 10 of the 333 amino acids in an existing optogenetic protein, which itself had been engineered by combining natural proteins from green algae. That advance “creates a powerful tool that allows neuroscientists to apply a brake in any specific circuit with millisecond precision...”