By Susanna Stroik
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In 2005, Boyden et al. described the first light-activated tool for controlling neuronal activity, channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), a blue light-activated cation channel, from the archaebacteria Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. When exposed to blue light, this channel activates neuronal ...
Viruses have become a regular part of basic biological research as well as clinical therapy. These biological tools are useful because they’re derived from viruses that can infect people, cells, and animals. Some of these viruses are completely inert, but others can cause ...
There are a lot of viruses out there – most of which we would all like to steer clear of! However, a subset of viruses are commonly used in the lab as tools and we all might benefit from getting to know them a little better. Here we will discuss the four most commonly used lab ...
Using AAV vectors in complex biological systems can be tricky at best, and downright infuriating at worst. While it is tempting to just dive right in and start injecting your virus, a successful AAV experiment starts with validation and optimization. Although there are different ...
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a single stranded, Parvoviridae DNA virus, packaged in a non-enveloped icosahedral capsid, that can be used to express genes of interest in cell and animal models. AAVs are non-pathogenic, do not integrate into the host genome, and can be ...
We often think about the brain’s function in terms of its regions. But equally important is the way the brain connects across these regions, a process driven by neurons. By studying how neurons are physically connected, we can begin to understand how the brain works. It’s kind ...
Viruses are the SUVs of molecular biology – they can deliver materials to specific destinations, haul a variety of cargo, and even handle a variety of terrains. They are, in fact, a choice delivery vector from basic science research all the way to clinical gene therapy. But how ...
