Often the effect is not unlike drinking coffee laced with LSD. Today is one of those days.
http://tinyurl.com/3v9tn

Scientists Create Remote-Controlled Flies

Sun Apr 10, 3:55 AM ET Health - AP

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale University researchers say their study that used lasers to create remote-controlled fruit flies could lead to a better understanding of overeating and violence in humans.

Using the lasers to stimulate specific brain cells, researchers say they were able to make the flies jump, walk, flap their wings and fly.

Even headless flies took flight when researchers stimulated the correct neurons, according to the study, published in the April 7 issue of the journal Cell.

Scientists say the study could ultimately help identify the cells associated with psychiatric disorders, overeating and aggressiveness. Biologists have long known that an electrical stimulus can trigger muscle response, but this approach used focused beams of light to stimulate neurons that would have been impossible to study using electrodes.

Gero Miesenbock, associate professor of cell biology at Yale, said if the process could be duplicated on mice, researchers might be able to better understand the cellular activity that leads to certain behavior.

I'll bet the DoD has plans for this technology. Surrender to the United States at once, or your entire citrus crop will be eaten by ten zillion turbo-charged fruitflies, each capable of eating 20 times their body weight of limes (or Lymies), and burping afterwards, at the touch of a button in Washington.

I wonder if we could adapt this technology for us plebs somehow. Like, if I point my TV remote control in the direction of Klempner's Boston lab, could I stimulate the right neurons to make him believe he has a 24-hour incurable, unbearable itch in his backside?

Or could I could make part of Allen Steere's left frontal lobe mutiny against the rest, so that he decides to help Lyme patients, when the other side of his brain isn't looking? (Could always anaesthetise the other lobe with my disco light, just to be extra cautious.)

You are in our power, Allen. You-are-in-our-power. At the count of three, you will repeat after us:

"Lyme-is-a-clinical-diagnosis."

Could we get headless CDC officers to run around in circles repeating nonsense syllables out of their rear ends? Oh yeah, they do that anyway.

How about a remote, laser-powered hammer that hovers in the stratosphere, and, at the click of a button, comes crashing down to earth to brain the heads of the major insurance corporations?

I think the possibilities of this new technology could be endless.

Lisa

quote:

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Originally posted by paulscha:
One of my morning rituals is reading the latest health headlines from yahoo.

Often the effect is not unlike drinking coffee laced with LSD. Today is one of those days.
http://tinyurl.com/3v9tn

Scientists Create Remote-Controlled Flies

Sun Apr 10, 3:55 AM ET Health - AP

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale University researchers say their study that used lasers to create remote-controlled fruit flies could lead to a better understanding of overeating and violence in humans.

Using the lasers to stimulate specific brain cells, researchers say they were able to make the flies jump, walk, flap their wings and fly.

Even headless flies took flight when researchers stimulated the correct neurons, according to the study, published in the April 7 issue of the journal Cell.

Scientists say the study could ultimately help identify the cells associated with psychiatric disorders, overeating and aggressiveness. Biologists have long known that an electrical stimulus can trigger muscle response, but this approach used focused beams of light to stimulate neurons that would have been impossible to study using electrodes.

Gero Miesenbock, associate professor of cell biology at Yale, said if the process could be duplicated on mice, researchers might be able to better understand the cellular activity that leads to certain behavior.

"Ultimately, that could be important to understanding human psychiatric disorders," Miesenbock said. "That's really futuristic stuff."

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Email me sometime, ok?

Maybe we can get one of Greatcod's lasers and use it on Steere next time he stands up to give a speech at some Ivy League event.

Lisa

quote:

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Originally posted by PinchotGail:
Oh Lisa you are too funny!!!!!!! Just think of all the fun we could have? Paulscha interesting thanks for sharing.......

Gail

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