Optogenetic techniques have been developed to allow control over the activity of selected cells within a highly heterogeneous tissue, using combination genetic engineering and light. Optogenetics employs natural engineered photoreceptors, mostly microbial origin, be genetically introduced into interest. As result, that are naturally light-insensitive can made photosensitive addressable by illum...

Seeing begins in the photoreceptors, where light is absorbed and signaled to the nervous system. Throughout the animal kingdom, photoreceptors are diverse in design and purpose. Nonetheless, phototransduction-the mechanism by which absorbed photons are converted into an electrical response-is highly conserved and based almost exclusively on a single class of photoproteins, the opsins. In this R...