5/17/2011 PERMALINK
Genetic neuron mods that let tiny laser implants communicate directly with your neurons. In a talk at TED, Ed Boyden, who leads the Synthetic Neurobiology Group at MIT's Media Lab, shows how, by inserting genes for light-sensitive proteins into brain cells, he can selectively activate or de-activate specific neurons with fiber-optic implants. With this unprecedented level of control, he's managed to cure mice of analogs of PTSD and certain forms of blindness. On the horizon says Boyden, neural prosthetics and implanted brain co-processors to enhance your capabilities.