Was it all a PLAN? *Decide for yourself*
Submitted by Harold Saive
“Dreadds” Control behavior through activating-deactivating neurons with a vaccine
Combined Optogenetic and Chemogenetic Control of Neurons
Optogenetics provides an array of elements for specific biophysical control, while designer chemogenetic receptors provide a minimally invasive method to control circuits in vivo by peripheral injection. We developed a strategy for selective regulation of activity in specific cells that integrates opto- and chemogenetic approaches, and thus allows manipulation of neuronal activity over a range of spatial and temporal scales in the same experimental animal. Light-sensing molecules (opsins) are activated by biologically produced light through luciferases upon peripheral injection of a small molecule substrate. Such luminescent opsins, luminopsins, allow conventional fiber optic use of optogenetic sensors, while at the same time providing chemogenetic access to the same sensors. We describe applications of this approach in cultured neurons in vitro, in brain slices ex vivo, and in awake and anesthetized animals in vivo.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26965125/
Luminopsins integrate opto- and chemogenetics by using physical and biological light sources for opsin activation
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26733686/
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Transcript excerpt:
“Current optogenetic experiments rely on extracting opsins light-sensitive proteins from plants which can be introduced to mammals by methods including injection and infection via adenovirus.
What they do is they genetically engineer a receptor that can get into a person through a viral vector and what that means is through an injection of the vaccine or through the contraction of an adenovirus which has been modified.
You might think oh well i just won’t get injected and i won’t go anywhere where I can get this adenovirus.
Adenovirus… there’s 52 of them and they range from the common cold, fever sore throat, pink eye … they’re prevalent so that’s creepy because if you look at what it says dreads allow scientists to manipulate neurons without implanting anything in the brain.”