The toroidal magnetic chamber (Tokamak) of the Joint European Torus (JET) at the Culham Science Centre. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images The toroidal magnetic chamber (Tokamak) of the Joint European Torus (JET) at the Culham Science Centre. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Genetically engineered 'Magneto' protein remotely controls brain and behaviour

 “Badass” new method uses a magnetised protein to activate brain cells rapidly, reversibly, and non-invasively

Researchers in the United States have developed a new method for controlling the brain circuits associated with complex animal behaviours, using genetic engineering to create a magnetised protein that activates specific groups of nerve cells from a distance.

Understanding how the brain generates behaviour is one of the ultimate goals of neuroscience – and one of its most difficult questions. In recent years, researchers have developed a number of methods that enable them to remotely control specified groups of neurons and to probe the workings of neuronal circuits.

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By Moheb Costandi / Contributor

Moheb Costandi is a freelance science writer based in London. His work has been published in Nature, Science, Scientific American, The Guardian, and New Scientist, among other publications. His latest book is Body Am I: The New Science of Self-Consciousness (MIT Press, October 2022). He also authors the blog Neurophilosophy. Follow him on Twitter @mocost.

(Source: theguardian.com; March 25, 2021; https://tinyurl.com/yevtmxdv)
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