#lightpowered

Logitech left solar-powered keyboards at the hours of darkness for over a decade, however it’s launching a brand new one right now. Similar to the K760 earlier than it, its new $99.99 Signature Slim Photo voltaic Plus K980 can solely be powered with mild. There’s no USB port or swappable batteries. As an alternative, it includes a cell that may convert photo voltaic or synthetic mild — 200 lux at…

Macrophages and other immune cells are the natural frontline immune warriors of our body, defending the body against invading pathogens and cancer cells. Yet despite their innate “combat” capabilities, precisely directing and activating these cells in vivo has remained challenging. In recent years, the emergence of bio-microrobots has shown great potential to convert these “natural soldiers” into…

Light-Powered Mouthwashes : Lumoral system

The ‘Lumoral’ system has been developed as a solution for consumers who are prone to tooth cavities that will help them to fight back against decay. The system works by having users swish a mouthwash around in their mouth for about 30 seconds; a proprietary photosensitive substance will stick to the surface of bacteria in the mouth. A mouthpiece is then used to blast light in the mouth for 10…

This light-powered 3D printer materializes objects all at once

3D printing has changed the way people approach hardware design, but most printers share a basic limitation: they essentially build objects layer by layer, generally from the bottom up. This new system from UC Berkeley, however, builds them all at once more or less by projecting a video through a jar of light-sensitive resin.

The device, which its creators call the replicator (but shouldn’t,…

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/researchers-invent-tiny-light-powered-wires-to-modulate-brains-electrical-signals-sciencedaily/

Researchers invent tiny, light-powered wires to modulate brain's electrical signals -- ScienceDaily

The human brain largely remains a black box: How the network of fast-moving electrical signals turns into thought, movement and disease remains poorly understood. But it is electrical, so it can be hacked — the question is finding a precise, easy way to manipulate electrical signaling between neurons.

A new University of Chicago study shows how tiny, light-powered wires could be fashioned out of silicon to provide these electrical signals. Published Feb. 19 in Nature Nanotechnology, the study offers a new avenue to shed light on — and perhaps someday treat — brain disorders.

Ten years ago, the science world was alive with speculation about a recently discovered technique called optogenetics, which would manipulate neural activity with light. The problem is that it has to be done with genetics: inserting a gene into a target cell that would make it respond to light. Other ways of modulating neurons have since been suggested, but a perfect alternative remains elusive.

A team led by Asst. Prof. Bozhi Tian built minuscule wires previously designed for solar cells. These nanowires are so small that hundreds of them could sit side by side on the edge of a sheet of paper — putting them on the same scale as the parts of cells they’re trying to communicate with.

These nanowires combine two types of silicon to create a small electrical current when struck by light. Gold, diffused by a special process onto the surface of the wire, acts as a catalyst to promote electrochemical reactions.

“When the wire is in place and illuminated, the voltage difference between the inside and outside of the cell is slightly reduced. This lowers the barrier for the neuron to fire an electrical signal to its neighboring cells,” Tian said.

The team tested the approach with rat neurons grown in a lab, and saw they could indeed trigger neurons to fire these electrical signals.

“The nice thing about it is that both gold and silicon are biologically compatible materials,” said graduate student Ramya Parameswaran, the first author on the study. “Also, after they’re injected into the body, structures of this size would degrade naturally within a couple of months.”

“It’s a fundamental but very promising approach,” Tian said. They plan next to test the system in animals, which could both help researchers further understand how these electrical signals work in the brain as well as suggest ways to address problems like Parkinson’s disease or psychiatric disorders.

The other co-authors were Francisco Bezanilla, the Lillian Eichelberger Cannon Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Erin Adams, the Joseph Regenstein Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; graduate students John Zimmerman (now at Harvard), Kelliann Koehler, Yuanwen Jiang and Andrew Phillips; postdoctoral researchers Jaeseok Yi and João Carvalho-de-Souza; and undergraduate student Michael Burke.

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