Podcasts about ed boyden

Greg and Matias interview Ed Boyden about neuroscience frontiers and its applications to mental health.Ed is a pioneer in understanding the fundamental mechanisms of the brain. He runs a lab at MIT for Synthetic Neurobiology and is a professor across the departments of neurotechnology, biological engineering, and cognitive science at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research. His inventions include optogenetic tools and expansion microscopy. He is co-founder of Cognito Therapeutics, Elemind, TI Solutions, and Synlife, and scientific advisor to several other companies. In this episode, we discuss…Academia vs. startups for neuroscience advancementEvaluating data vs intuition to assess new technologiesBreakthroughs like optogenetics and expansion microscopyHow to translate neurotech into companies/commercializationApproaches for clearly communicating and "storytelling" complex science.Credits:Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis,  Nico V. Rey & Caitlin NerFind us at businesstrip.fm and psymed.venturesFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank

This podcast is a commentary and does not contain any copyrighted material of the reference source. We strongly recommend accessing/buying the reference source at the same time. ■Reference Source https://www.ted.com/talks/ed_boyden_a_light_switch_for_neurons ■Post on this topic (You can get FREE learning materials!) https://englist.me/228-academic-words-reference-from-ed-boyden-a-light-switch-for-neurons-ted-talk/ ■Youtube Video https://youtu.be/Y3zrxCNfa_E (All Words) https://youtu.be/3HniW2W9eyU (Advanced Words) https://youtu.be/bGquLsFYAKE (Quick Look) ■Top Page for Further Materials https://englist.me/ ■SNS (Please follow!)

This podcast is a commentary and does not contain any copyrighted material of the reference source. We strongly recommend accessing/buying the reference source at the same time. ■Reference Source https://www.ted.com/talks/ed_boyden_a_new_way_to_study_the_brain_s_invisible_secrets ■Post on this topic (You can get FREE learning materials!) https://englist.me/153-academic-words-reference-from-ed-boyden-a-new-way-to-study-the-brains-invisible-secrets-ted-talk/ ■Youtube Video https://youtu.be/5r3VzIBGuW0 (All Words) https://youtu.be/d_3djJFLiM8 (Advanced Words) https://youtu.be/VhrfE0sDNaE (Quick Look) ■Top Page for Further Materials https://englist.me/ ■SNS (Please follow!)

Microscopy methods today are enabling researchers to see small details within cells, previously undetectable by light microscopy. Chief Editor Barbara Cheifet speaks with Drs. Ed Boyden and Johann Danzl about the technological advances and challenges in the fields of super resolution and expansion microscopy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, hosts Joe and Jeremy catch up with Dr. Ed Boyden on the many applications of his neurotechnologies such as optogenetics and expansion microscopy, the power of combining these technologies to establish a computational model of a small organism, and Dr. Boyden's latest technology- signaling reporter islands.

#47 — From an early start in the lab at just 14 years old, to running one of the largest neuroscience groups in the world, Ed Boyden is a Professor and group leader in the Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, and an HHMI investigator.  In this episode, we hear all about how despite his recent awards and huge success, he initially struggled to get a permanent role in academia, and how he believes you can help create your own luck in science.Watch or Listen to all episodes of The Microscopists here: https://themicroscopists.bitesizebio.com/

#47 — From an early start in the lab at just 14 years old, to running one of the largest neuroscience groups in the world, Ed Boyden is a Professor and group leader in the Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, and an HHMI investigator. In this episode, we hear all about how despite his recent awards and huge success, he initially struggled to get a permanent role in academia, and how he believes you can help create your own luck in science. Browse all The Microscopists episodes here: http://bit.ly/the-microscopists-yt #TheMicroscopists #imaging #Expansionmicroscopy

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Apply to help run EAGxIndia, Berkeley, Singapore and Future Forum!, published by Vaidehi Agarwalla on May 21, 2022 on The Effective Altruism Forum. Apply to join the EAGxIndia 2023, the Future Forum and the EAGxBerkeley 2023 teams. The application takes 15 minutes and the deadline is Tuesday May 31st at 11:59pm Pacific Time. We are also seeking (separate application) volunteers to run EAGxSingapore 2022. Apply now! About the conferences Future Forum 2022 The Future Forum is a 4-day event running in San Francisco from August 4-7th 2022. We are concentrating 250 promising individuals from across communities there; drawing from Effective Altruism, Emergent Ventures, Silicon Valley tech, Progress Studies, and more. We want to arm many more of the world's brightest minds with the tools they need to tackle global problems, be it funding or great mentors. We believe the Forum can become a highly impactful event in this space. In our early stages, the Future Forum and surrounding community accelerated 20+ highly promising individuals through e.g. the EA ecosystem and Emergent Ventures, and led to the creation of 10+ start-ups and projects. For the main event, our first round of speakers & supporters includes, among others, Holden Karnofsky, Anders Sandberg, Daniela Amodei, Ed Boyden, and Jason Crawford. We are looking for more ops support to make this event happen well, with the core of work in June and July 2022. We are also excited about Event Leads who have organized a mid-to-large-scale conference before. EAGxIndia 2023 This is the first ever EAGx conference in India and will likely take place in early 2023. EAGxIndia will have about 200-300 attendees, primarily aimed at community members based in India, with up to 100 attendees for other groups, and also EA-adjacent Indian organizations that might contribute to and benefit from attending the conference. This event will be more introductory than other EAGx's, and the content will also be more targeted at addressing gaps that Indian members struggle with in EA such as localized career advice through career workshops, cause-specific career lightning talks and more. CEA has approved funding for this event and it is led by Anubhuti Jain and Pratik Agarwal, who are currently working on community building in India. EAGxBerkeley 2023 EAG SF is great for engaged community members but there are fewer ways for newer EAs to get involved with the EA community in the Bay Area, despite a fairly high awareness of EA in the area. I think an EAGx would be a good way to bring such people into the movement, and think it would have positive effects strengthening Bay Area university groups (such as UC Berkeley, Stanford and others). The application for EAGxBerkeley is run by me (Vaidehi Agarwalla) to help coordinate people interested in running this event, but I will not be taking on a leading role. Note: CEA has not yet approved this event but they have encouraged us to apply for funding. We will apply for funding once we have a team. These roles are a good fit for someone who: Wants to test their fit for event management, operations and community building Depending on team structure: Has the capacity to take on 5-10 hours of flexible work per week leading up to the conference Is able to work full- or near-fulltime 2 weeks before the conference Could be good fits for any of the following (specific needs will vary based on the location) Strategy (Goals, Metrics) Project management (Budgeting, Team lead, Evaluation Production (Venue, Catering, AV, Health & Safety) Admissions (Application review, Stewardship) Content (Speaker Selection & Liaison, Swapcard Manager) Communications (Emails, Marketing, PR, Website) Is organized, reliable, and handles crisis situations well You don't have to be super qualified, just capable and enthusiastic. Role l...

Paul Tillberg, now a Janelia Fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus, developed the protocol for expansion microscopy with colleagues Ed Boyden, currently a professor at MIT, and Fei Chen, currently a Core Institute Member at the Broad Institute. The method exploits the fact that biological tissue is mostly water, and it is this watery fraction, Tillberg explains, that is replaced by a “swellable hydrogel” that expands the sample to sizes that make it much easier to image with familiar fluorescent tags and standard light microscopy equipment. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ascb-pathwayspodcast/message

The Xapiens Podcast (XPC) Episode 8: Join Xapiens Co-Director Loyd Waites in a discussion with MIT professor Ed Boyden. Founder of the MIT Synthetic Neurobiology Group, The K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics, and inventor of optogenetics. You can learn more about him here: https://mcgovern.mit.edu/profile/ed-boyden/

自己組織化することで伸長する性質を持つタンパク質を応用することで、細胞内で起きた現象を一細胞レベルでレコーディングし、そしてその情報を顕微鏡を用いることで読み出すことができる手法を開発した2本の論文について紹介しました。Show notes Linghu et al., BioRxiv (2021) … “Recording of cellular physiological histories along optically readable self-assembling protein chains” Lin et al., BioRxiv (2021) … “Time-tagged ticker tapes for intracellular recordings” 02138, 02139, 02115 … アメリカのZip code、すなわち日本の郵便番号。これを知っていると論文と研究の地理感がよりよくわかる。02138はHarvard University、02139はMIT、02115はHarvard Medical School Ed Boyden Karl Deisseroth … Optogeneticsの開発者。Ed BoydenとCRISPRを用いたgenome editingで有名なFeng ZhangはKarlのラボ出身。 optogenetics Fei Chen … Ed BoydenラボでExpasion microscopyを開発。今ゴリゴリの若手。 Expansion microscopy (Science 2015) … Fei ChenとEd BoydenのExpansion microscopy論文 清華大学 … 中国の最強大学の一つ。 Linghu et al., Cell 2020 … “Spatial Multiplexing of Fluorescent Reporters for Imaging Signaling Network Dynamics “: Linghuの一つ前の論文。こちらも自己組織化するタンパク質を用いた細胞内レコーディング、通称signaling reporter islands (SiRIs)の開発論文 Adam Cohen … こーへんじゃなくて普通にかんがえてコーエンですよね… Luke Lavis … 化学のバックグラウンドを生かした、蛍光dyeの開発をもりもり行っている。 David Baker … タンパク質デザインの巨匠 Baskaran et al., Nature Communications (2015) … “An in cellulo-derived structure of PAK4 in complex with its inhibitor Inka1”: iPAK4の元になった論文。オリジナルの論文ではiPAK4という名前は使われていない。すでに如意棒感があるフィギュアがちらほら。 Zamft et al., PloS One (2012) … “Measuring Cation Dependent DNA Polymerase Fidelity Landscapes by Deep Sequencing”: DNA polymeraseの特性を活かした細胞内レコーディングの論文。Ed Boyden + George Church Editorial notes このアイデアの行く末を見守ります。(soh) 面白い発想の論文はいいですね。(tadasu)

In this episode, Ed Boyden joins us to discuss his research at MIT and how an imaging technology developed by Boyden and his colleagues is applicable to type 1 diabetes researchers. Dr. Boyden leads the Synthetic Neurobiology Group, which develops tools for analyzing and repairing complex biological systems such as the brain, and applies them systematically to reveal ground truth principles of biological function as well as to repair these systems. He co-directs the MIT Center for Neurobiological Engineering, which aims to develop new tools to accelerate neuroscience progress, and is a faculty member of the MIT Center for Environmental Health Sciences, Computational & Systems Biology Initiative, and Koch Institute.To learn more about Dr. Boyden's research follow the link below:Synthetic Neurobiology Group

Jordan Harrod is a PhD student in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics at the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program. She works at intersection of non-invasive brain-machine interfaces and deep learning for clinical pain and anesthesia under Dr. Ed Boyden and Dr. Emery Brown. Her YouTube channel focuses on engaging the public on artificial intelligence and algorithms. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University in 2018. You can follow her on Twitter @JordanBHarrod.

Greg sits down with Ed Boyden, the Y. Eva Tan professor in Neurotechnology and the Synthetic Biology group Leader at MIT to discuss how things have been both at home and in the lab during COVID (1:56), his background as an engineer and how those skills translate to neuroscience (7:08), transitioning from learning and memory work to optogenetics research (12:55), expansion microscopy (20:07), science in the press and brining basic research to the public (25:35), updated research on fluorescent tags and how this can be used for brain mapping (32:46), and comparing science and quality of life in Boston vs. the bay area (42:09).

In the seventh episode of the "You Belong in AI!" podcast, ACM AI Outreach @ UCLA interviews Jordan Harrod (she/her/hers). Jordan is a PhD student in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology program. She works at the intersection of non-invasive brain-machine interfaces and deep learning for clinical pain and anesthesia under Dr. Ed Boyden and Dr. Emery Brown. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University in 2018. Her YouTube channel focuses on engaging the public on artificial intelligence. You can follow her on Twitter @JordanBHarrod. Listen to learn about Jordan's background and experiences in research, AI literacy and education, her Youtube channel, AI fairness and ethics, and her messages of encouragement to underrepresented students passionate about STEM! The "You Belong in AI!" podcast is made possible by ACM AI Outreach @ UCLA. All questions are contributed by Arjun Subramonian (Outreach Director 20-21), Maya Raman (Events Director 20-21), Kai Tota (Outreach/Events Officer 20-21), Jason Jewik (Outreach Officer 20-21), Mat Ruíz (Outreach/Events Officer 20-21), Aman Oberoi (Outreach Officer 20-21), and Nisha McNealis (Outreach Officer 20-21). The podcast is edited by Jason Jewik. The music you hear in this episode is: Cheery Monday by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3495-cheery-monday License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Want to learn more about ACM AI Outreach @ UCLA? Visit our website and Twitter. Want to learn more about Jordan? Make your way to her website, YouTube channel, and Twitter.

In this episode I talk to Adam Marblestone about technology roadmapping, scientific gems hidden in plain sight, and systematically exploring complex systems. Adam is currently a research scientist at Google DeepMind and in the past has been the chief strategy officer at a brain-computer interface company and did research on brain mapping with Ed Boyden and did his PhD with George Church. He has a repeated pattern of pushing the frontiers in one discipline after another - physics, biology, neuroscience, and now artificial intelligence. I wanted to talk to Adam not just because it’s fascinating when people are able to push the frontier in multiple disciplines but because he does it through a system he calls technological roadmapping. Most of our discussion is framed around two of Adam’s works - a presentation about roadmapping biology and his primer on climate technology. The conversation stands on its own, but taking a glance at them will definitely enhance the context. Links below. Key Takeaways Technological roadmapping enables fields to escape local maxima It might be possible to systematically break down complex technical disciplines into basic constraints in order to construct these roadmaps Figuring out these constraints may also enable us to reboot stalled fields Links Road-mapping Biology presentation Architecting Discovery paper Adam’s Website Adam on Twitter The Longevity FAQ The Longevity FAQ - Making of Hypothes.is

DNAをシリカビーズに封入し、3Dプリント可能な材料に混ぜることで、DNA入り3DオブジェクトをプリントするDNA-of-things (DoT)の技術と、DNA Storageと噴水符号化の技術について紹介しました。Show notes A DNA-of-things storage architecture to create materials with embedded memory. Koch et al., Nature Biotech (2019) … DNA-of-thingsのオリジナル論文。スタンフォードバニーちゃんの情報をDNAとして記録し、シリカビーズに入れて3Dプリンティング可能な材料に混ぜ込み、3Dオブジェクトを3Dプリンタによって作成するDNA-of-thingsの開発を行った。情報が劣化することなく、読み出しも問題なく行えた。DNAに情報を書き込む技術としてはDNA Fountain法を用いている。 DNA Fountain enables a robust and efficient storage architecture. Erlich and Zielinski, Science (2017)… 噴水符号(Fountain Code)の技術をDNA Storageに応用した論文。DNA Storageのシャノン限界の見積もりや、過去のDNA Storage論文の比較を行っている。215Petabyte/gramで情報を埋め込むことができると推定している。 DNA Fountain enables a robust and efficient storage architecture. Erlich and Zielinski, Biorixv (2016) … Biorxivに投稿されているバージョン。誰でもアクセス可能。 シフト演算を利用した噴水符号 … 山口大学野崎先生による噴水符号に関する日本語説明記事 WikipeDNA (researchat.fm ep18) Expansion Microscopy. Chen et al., Science (2015) … Ed Boydenらの技術。細胞に、膨らませることが可能なポリマーを染み込ませて膨らませることでこれまで観察不可能だった小さな構造が観察可能になった。超解像イメージングとは異なるアイデアから生まれた技術。 Hachimoji DNA and RNA: A genetic system with eight building blocks. Hoshika et al., Science (2019) … 新しい人工塩基をつくることにより、4種類から8種類に拡張した論文。PCRしたり、DNA->RNAしたりすることが可能。 Editorial notes メリークリスマス！！フィギュアに紫外線やX線当てまくるアートが流行る！！(coela) たまきさんも論文を読んだみたいでよかった (soh) DNAを全てのオブジェクトに練りこんで、みんなハッピー！！！(tadasu)

In the previous episode (“Getting the Data”), we learned about the many neuroscience tools Prof. Ed Boyden (MIT Media Lab, McGovern Institute) and his team have invented and disseminated to control, map, and observe the brain.  In this second episode, join GLiMPSE for a discussion of the ‘illusion of reductionism’ in biology, new developments in […]

Ed Boyden is a professor in the MIT Media Lab (Synthetic Neurobiology) and McGovern Institute.  He’s developed several revolutionary tools for researchers, including optogenetics — for controlling neurons — and expansion microscopy — for generating molecular models of brain circuits.  Furthermore, he’s currently creating high fidelity technologies for monitoring brain activity, in situ.  In this first episode […]

Ed Boyden builds the tools and technologies that help researchers think about and treat the brain, an organ we still know surprisingly little about. When it comes to how our brains make decisions, form emotions, and exhibit consciousness, there is still a lot we can learn. But just as fascinating as the tools Boyden and his team build is the way in which they build them. Boyden employs a number of methods to design more useful tools, such as thinking backwards from the problem, hiring eclectic talent, practicing a particular type of meditation, waking long before dawn, or just trying the opposite of what’s already been attempted. Would emulating the brain require emulating the entire body? Is consciousness fundamental to the universe, or is it actually just an illusion? Does a certain disharmony in thought lead to creativity? Why don’t people feel comfortable talking about their brains? And why is it so hard for us to be empathetic with one another? Listen to this engaging and brain-stimulating conversation with Tyler to hear his perspective. Transcript and links Follow Ed on Twitter Follow Tyler on Twitter More CWT goodness: Facebook Twitter Instagram Email

Not yet 40, Ed Boyden has already concocted a panoply of tools, which are revolutionizing neuroscience research. He tells us all about optogenetics, expansion microscopy, and more.

En este episodio 3 de Elemental Podcast os hablo sobre el bilingüismo, en la sección de consultas abordo las emociones autoconscientes, la vergüenza y la culpa, y finalmente en visiones del futuro hablo de una tecnología de vanguardia, la optogenética.Este es un buen artículo para saber más sobre bilingüismo. Y aquí tienes un estudio de Bialystok y otro. Y por último otro estudio sobre los beneficios del bilingüismo.Para saber más acerca de las emociones autoconscientes, puedes consultar este estudio de Tangney, este de Hoffman o este de Lewis.Y sobre Optogenética tienes muchos recursos de la Universidad de Stanford, o en el grupo de investigación de Ed Boyden. En la wikipedia encontrarás más cosas.Y sabéis que podéis visitar la web www.albertomg.com para contactar conmigo.

The science behind the polar vortex, a new study attempting to directly translate brain signals into speech, and an update on the incredible work of neuroscientist Ed Boyden.

This episode features neuroscientist Ed Boyden discussing two inventions of his that have revolutionized neuroscience: optogenetics and expansion microscopy. Ed and Julia talk about Ed's approach to coming up with good ideas, why he prefers reading old science to new science, his big-picture plan for what he wants to solve in his career, and his take on the rationalist versus Hayekian debate over how to make important progress.

To advance our understanding of the nervous system, we need to know how to ask the right questions about the structure and function of neural circuits. This is often facilitated by new techniques for recording, imaging, and manipulating neural activity. In this episode, we return to our series of interviews from MPFI’s 2017 Sunposium conference. We sit down with Dr. Ed Boyden from MIT and Dr. Viviana Gradinaru from Cal Tech (2016 Peter Gruss Young Investigator Award), two leading innovators in the field, to explore the intersection of tool development and experimental neurobiology.

Dr Harbi Sohal is a rising star in the field of Neural Implants. He recently won the Forbes 30 under 30 for scientists. At 29, he has also recently become an Assistant Professor at the Feinstein Institute in New York. He has worked with previous guests Dr Andrew Jackson and Dr Ed Boyden and is now working with Dr Chad Bouton. He is working on all the big things in this field: Glial scarring reduction, optogenetics, and bioelectronic medicine.   Dr Sohal also generously provided his Feedly subscriptions. Feedly is an RSS feed which delivers daily news to you on the news in the Neural Implant field.  Hopefully this is easy to download, otherwise, send me an email at neuralimplantpodcast@gmail.com and I can send it to you

Dr. Edward Boyden has co-invented optogenetic tools which allow control of neurons using light. This discovery has won him a prize, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences which came with $3 million dollars (and he promised to donate $1 million to the Neural Implant podcast!). He also has worked on expansion microscopy which 'freezes' the biomolecules and expands them up to 100x. In this way it is possible to visualize the parts of the brain using more conventional microscopy. He has done many great things but is not resting on his laurels! 

Ed Boyden PhD, Associate Professor, Media Lab and McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is exploring how light can be used to treat neurological diseases using non-invasive devices and genetic engineering.  He talks about the emerging field of neurotechnology, bringing together problem experts and solutions experts to find cures and treatments for brain diseases, and the need for more investigation of the mind/body connection.  I talked with Ed at the recent Future of Genomic Medicine Conference held in La Jolla CA by the Scripps Translational Science Institute.  @EdBoyden3 #FOGM17 @ScrippsSTSI Syntheticneurobiology.org

How can we stay on top of changes that are not only getting faster, but more complex? We need strategies to take advantage of breakthroughs in fields as diverse as data mining, artificial intelligence and machine learning, since they are changing the ways we work, research, and live. To navigate this change, Joi Ito, Director of the MIT Media Lab and author of Whiplash, shares insights from research at the Lab and offers us nine strategies for surviving our faster future. In this interview, he does a deep dive on creative problem solving, teams, diversity, and learning. He talks about: How the Media Lab got started and the current focus of its work The importance of the white space between and beyond disciplines How the Media Lab has shifted from operating as a container to operating as a node How neuroscientist Ed Boyden embodies the multi-disciplinary approach of the Lab How pull over push problem solving is about finding and using the resources you need when you need them How the 2011 Japanese earthquake became a focal point for pull over push problem solving The power of diverse teams - and diverse tools - for creative problem solving The sweet spot of disagreement and diversity among productive teams When it comes to diversity, why we need to ask, are we looking to the other or just another? How innovative cybersecurity folks are designing systems that assume failure rather than seeking to avoid it and how this is about resilience over strength Why we need to think about the interaction among objects - the systems in which they operate - in order to innovate for greater success The role nuance and complexity play in thinking about open source How machine learning and artificial intelligence are impacting fields like cryptocurrency and genetic engineering The fact that policies and regulations are behind where machine learning and artificial intelligence are taking us Why lawyers need to learn more about tech and scientists need to learn more about ethical and legal issues Kevin Esvelt and his work at the Media Lab in genetic engineering and his focus on responsible ways of deploying these tools in conjunction with everyday citizens Why we cannot wait on ethicists and policymakers but must get scientists on board instead How our education system is the opposite of what robots and artificial intelligence are ensuring we need when it comes to creativity and innovation Why the Media Lab emphasizes the 4Ps of play, passion, projects, and peers and how that differs markedly from what U.S. schools are about Why our education system and our schools need to be as dynamic and open to change as the fields that will have the greatest impact on us and them How we might look to the ed system in Finland regarding assessment and project-based learning The value of the Montessori approach The value of looking at countries like India and others where they are experimenting with schools and learning The power of informal, interest-driven learning Why we should be spending more time on getting people engaged in their learning Why he believes learning is a social and cultural problem, not a tech problem, and why we need to create a culture of learning How he thought programming and coding would be more about mindset and creativity than employment Why he believes we need to nudge human-machine interactions in the right direction Links to Topics Mentioned in this Podcast @Joi https://joi.ito.com/ MIT Media Lab Jerome Wiesner Nicholas Negroponte Marvin Minsky Seymour Papert Muriel Cooper John Seely Brown Ed Boyden Optogenetics Just-in-time manufacturing The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly Scott E. Page Donella Meadows Reid Hoffman Kevin Esvelt and Rewriting the Code of Life CRISPR Mizuko Ito (Mimi Ito) and Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes - your ratings make all the difference.

Today, a startling new discovery: prodding the brain with light, a group of scientists got an unexpected surprise -- they were able to turn back on a part of the brain that had been shut down by Alzheimer’s disease. This new science is not a cure, and is far from a treatment, but it’s a finding so … simple, you won’t be able to shake it. Come join us for a lab visit, where we’ll meet some mice, stare at some light, and come face-to-face with the mystery of memory. We can promise you: by the end, you’ll never think the same way about Christmas lights again. This piece was reported by Molly Webster. It was produced by Annie McEwen, Matt Kielty, and Molly Webster, with help from Simon Adler. Special thanks to Ed Boyden, Cognito Therapeutics, Brad Dickerson, Karen Duff, Zaven Khachaturian, Michael Lutz, Kevin M. Spencer, and Peter Uhlhaas. Producer's note about the image: Those neon green things in the image are microglia, the brain’s immune cells, or, as we describe them in our episode, the janitor cells of the brain. Straight from MIT’s research files, this image shows microglia who have gotten light stimulation therapy (one can only hope in the flicker room). You can see their many, super-long tentacles, which would be used to feel out anything that didn’t belong in the brain. And then they’d eat it! Support Radiolab by becoming a member today at Radiolab.org/donate.    

Source: Effective Altruism Global (original video).

ED BOYDEN (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/ed_boyden)is a professor of biological engineering and brain and cognitive sciences at the MIT Media Lab and the MIT McGovern Institute. He leads the Synthetic Neurobiology Group. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/ed_boyden-how-the-brain-is-computing-the-mind

Ed Boyden is the head of the MIT Media Lab’s Synthetic Neurobiology research group and he wants blow up the brain. Sort of. He and his team have discovered a way to examine brain tissue by physically expanding it—a process that lets them look at tissue which would normally be extremely difficult to see even under a microscope.Boyden explains how it all works—and a lot more—on this week’s episode.iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inquiring-minds/id711675943RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/inquiring-mindsStitcher: stitcher.com/podcast/inquiring-minds

The first time I met Prof. Ed Boyden was at last year’s Global Future 2045 conference in New York. There I was highly impressed with Boyden’s impressive work in neuroscience in general and optogenetics in particular, as well as the profound implications it would have on our ability to understand and manipulate the brain. And […]