For the first time ever, scientists can control human brain cells using quantum dots

For the first time ever, scientists can control human brain cells using quantum dots:

'via Blog this'

What if you could treat conditions ranging from Alzheimer's to blindness, all with a flash of light? Researchers think it's possible — and they plan on using tiny particles called quantum dots to do it.

Brain stimulation can be incredibly tricky. Performing it from outside the head is effective, but doesn't give you very much specificity when it comes to turning on a specific brain region; sticking electrodes on the brain itself offers you precision, but it's also incredibly invasive.

Recently, researchers have sought out solutions to these problems with methods that rely on light, in hopes that they can be used to stimulate brain activity with a high level of precision without having to crack your skull open. Right now, the buzz-word in light-mediated brain stimulation is optogenetics, which looks incredibly promising, but relies on genetic modifications that are still considered too risky to test in humans.