New Uses for Nano Particles....


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Fabulous, Bob. Thanks for posting that -- I had no idea remote brain manipulation was chugging along quite like this. The last paragraphs of the Guardian story for those who didn't click Bob's link:

Nanoparticles are already being used in other fields. They can, for example, target and destroy malignant cells, and therefore show promise in cancer therapy. More recently, some researchers have exploited their ability to sneak through the blood-brain barrier, and have used them to visualise and reduce stroke damageand inflammation in rats.

Although still in the experimental stages, research like this may eventually allow for wireless and minimally invasive deep brain stimulation of the human brain. Bezanilla’s group aim to apply their method to develop treatments for macular degeneration and other conditions that kill off light-sensitive cells in the retina. This would involve injecting nanoparticles into the eye so that they bind to other retinal cells, allowing natural light to excite them into firing impulses to the optic nerve.

References: Carvalho-de-Souza, J. L., et al. (2015). Photosensitivity of Neurons Enabled by Cell-Targeted Gold Nanoparticles. Neuron, DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.02.033

Chen, R., et al. (2015). Wireless magnetothermal deep brain stimulation. Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1261821 [PDF]

Edited by william.scherk
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