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In the field of optogenetics, scientists investigate the activity of neurons in the brain using light. A team led by Prof. Dr. Ilka Diester and Dr. David Eriksson from the Optophysiology Laboratory at the University of Freiburg has developed a new method to simultaneously conduct laminar recordings, multifiber stimulations, 3D optogenetic stimulation, connectivity inference, and behavioral quantification on brains. Their results are presented in Nature Communications. “Our work paves the way for large-scale photo-recording and controlled interrogation of fast neural communication in any combination of brain areas,” Diester explains. “This can help us unravel the rapid and multilayered dialogs between neurons that maintain brain function.”

The research group, in collaboration with Dr. Patrick Ruther of the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) at the University of Freiburg, is developing a new method for the controlled interrogation and recording of neuronal activity in the . To do this, the team is taking advantage of thin, cell-sized optical fibers for minimally invasive optogenetic implantation. “We combine side-emitting fibers with silicon probes to achieve high-quality recordings and ultrafast, multichannel optogenetic control.”

They call the system Fused Fiber Light Emission and eXtracellular Recording, or FFLEXR. In addition to optical fibers that can be attached to any silicon probe, the uses linear depth-resolved , a lightweight fiber matrix connector, a flexible multifiber ribbon cable, an optical commutator for efficient multichannel stimulation, a general-purpose patch cable, and an algorithm to manage the photovoltaic response.

Continue reading “Better understanding communication between neurons in the brain” | >

Deep learning is “a ball of mud accumulating all of AI,” says Amazon VP and distinguished scientist Nikko Ström. Integrating symbolic reasoning and learning eff… See more.

Integrating symbolic reasoning and learning efficiently from interactions with the world are two major remaining challenges, says vice president and distinguished scientist Nikko Ström.

Yesterday, LHCb submitted for publication new results of matter-antimatter oscillations using decays of charm particles, significantly improving the current experimental knowledge!

Read our news: https://lhcb-outreach.web.cern.ch/2022/02/21/high-precision-…ht-mesons/

Today, the LHCb Collaboration submitted for publication a paper that reports the results of the high precision measurement of the charm oscillation (mixing) parameter yCP – yCPKπ using two body D0 meson decays. The result is more precise than the current world average value by a factor of four.

The neutral meson particle-antiparticle systems, Bs0−Bs0, B0–B0, D0–D0 and K0–K0 oscillate (transform into their antiparticle and back) with very different frequencies. The Bs0−Bs0 oscillations are the fastest, about 3 million million times per second (3×1012). The oscillations B0–B0 are about 37 times slower while the oscillations D0–D0 are even slower; the oscillation period is over one hundred times larger than the average lifetime of a D0 meson. Therefore only very few D0 mesons have the time to oscillate before decaying.

Continue reading “High precision measurement of the charm oscillation parameter yCP — yCPKπ using decays of D0 mesons to two light mesons” | >

Doorbells are among those everyday objects that started out simple but picked up an immense amount of complexity over the years. What began as a mechanism to bang two pieces of metal together evolved into all kinds of wired and wireless electric bells, finally culminating in today’s smart doorbells that beam a live video feed to their owners even if they’re half a world away.

But sometimes, less is more. [Low tech obsession] built a doorbell out of spare components that doesn’t require Internet connectivity or even a power supply. But it’s not a purely mechanical device either: the visitor turns a knob mounted on a stepper motor, generating pulses of alternating current. These pulses are then fed into the voice coil of an old hard drive, causing its arm to vibrate and strike a bell, mounted where the platters used to be.

Continue reading “Minimalistic Doorbell Doesn’t Need An Internet Connection — Or Even A Power Supply” | >

Regrowing or replacing bone lost to disease is tricky and often painful. In a new study Australian researchers have found a relatively simple way to induce stem cells to turn into bone cells quickly and efficiently, using high-frequency sound waves.

Stem cells have enormous medical potential in helping to regenerate various tissues in the body, but bone has proven particularly hard to work with. Bone originates from what are known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which mostly reside in the bone marrow. Collecting these is a painful procedure, then converting them into bone cells is difficult to scale up to useful levels.

But researchers from RMIT have now found a faster and simpler way to induce MSCs to turn into bone cells. Previous studies have suggested that the vibrations from sound waves can induce cell differentiation, but it typically took over a week with mixed results. These experiments have been limited to low frequencies, and it was thought that higher frequencies would have little benefit. So for the new study, the RMIT team investigated these higher frequencies.

Continue reading “Sound waves convert stem cells into bone in regenerative breakthrough” | >

Our spatial sense doesn’t extend beyond the familiar three dimensions, but that doesn’t stop scientists from playing with whatever lies beyond.

Rice University physicists are pushing spatial boundaries in new experiments. They’ve learned to control electrons in gigantic Rydberg atoms with such precision they can create “synthetic dimensions,” important tools for .

The Rice team developed a technique to engineer the Rydberg states of ultracold strontium atoms by applying resonant microwave electric fields to couple many states together. A Rydberg state occurs when one electron in the atom is energetically bumped up to a highly , supersizing its orbit to make the atom thousands of times larger than normal.