Genetic Engineering Publications - GEG Tech top picks

Researchers at the Turku Centre for Biotechnology have invented new tools to decode and control signalling circuits in living cells with flashes of light. In principle, any cellular circuit can now be targeted with their method. Using this approach, they discovered that major biological signalling circuits can be made to resonate when driven at their resonant frequency

Proteins are the workhorse molecules of life. Among their many jobs, they carry oxygen, build tissue, copy DNA for the next generation, and coordinate events within and between cells. Now scientists have developed a method to control proteins inside live cells with the flick of a switch, giving researchers an unprecedented tool for pinpointing the causes of disease using the simplest of tools: light.

Here the authors report that selective optogenetic stimulation of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons in mice produces a powerful arousal response sufficient to restore conscious behaviors, including the righting reflex, during continuous, steady-state general anesthesia. Although previous studies found that VTA dopamine neurons do not appear to play a central role in regulating sleep–wake transitions, their findings demonstrate that selective stimulation of these neurons is sufficient to induce the transition from an unconscious, anesthetized state to an awake state. These results suggest that VTA DA neurons play a critical role in promoting wakefulness.

In the last decade, new technologies such as optogenetics, chemogenetics and the CRISPR-Cas system have begun to transform how biologists understand the finer details associated with sleep-wake regulation. Here, the authors detail how some of the newest technologies are being applied to understand the neural circuits underlying sleep and wake.

Current treatments of ventricular arrhythmias rely on modulation of cardiac electrical function through drugs, ablation or electroshocks, which are all non-biological and rather unspecific, irreversible or traumatizing interventions. Optogenetics, however, is a novel, biological technique allowing electrical modulation in a specific, reversible and trauma-free manner using light-gated ion channels. The aim of this study was to investigate optogenetic termination of ventricular arrhythmias in the whole heart.

Here, the scientists engineer the Light Plate Apparatus (LPA), a device that can deliver two independent 310 to 1550 nm light signals to each well of a 24-well plate with intensity control over three orders of magnitude and millisecond resolution. Signals are programmed using an intuitive web tool named Iris. All components can be purchased for under $400 and the device can be assembled and calibrated by a non-expert in one day.