Optogenetics News and Research

RSS

Prolific announces major new investments and partnerships with NantWorks and Zylidac Bio CDMO

On the heels of our exciting major investment and Nantworks partnership announcement last week, Prolific Machines is pleased to announce a great new partnership with Zylidac Bio, a fully integrated biologics CDMO located next door to us in San Francisco Bay Area, to scale up the production of Prolific's Optogentics-enabled cell lines for clinical and GMP manufacturing!

From Prolific Machines, Inc. 28 Oct 2026

Scientists discover a deep brain structure crucial for holding thoughts

Reading a sentence, following a conversation, solving a problem or deciding what to do next: all of these rely on working memory.

26 Oct 2026

Zylidac Bio and Prolific Machines partner to scale Prolific’s next-generation biologics manufacturing platform to GMP production

Zylidac Bio, a fully integrated biologics CDMO within the Zydus Lifesciences Limited (Zydus) group, and Prolific Machines, a biotechnology company advancing biologics development and manufacturing through integrated optogenetics-enabled solutions delivering breakthrough yields, superior on-target quality, and precise process control, today announced a partnership to scale Prolific's platform from early development through GMP production.

From Zylidac Bio LLC 22 Oct 2026

UC San Diego study achieves mind control by stimulating neurons

When learning how to perform new movements, our brains etch the details in our minds as we master the new task.

14 Oct 2026

Internet-controlled brain implant enables remote neural stimulation and drug delivery

A researcher in Chicago remotely controls a miniaturized brain implant in Daejeon, Korea - over the internet. Korean researchers have developed a wireless device that can deliver drugs and light to precisely modulate targeted neurons from anywhere in the world.

27 Aug 2026

Loneliness can reprogram the brain to increase alcohol use

Loneliness can reprogram the brain in ways that push alcohol consumption, reports a new preclinical study led by Northwestern University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

25 Aug 2026

Neuroscientists study the brain circuits mediating experience-dependent decision-making in mice

A brain must constantly cope with the highly variable, fast-paced nature of the world when trying to judge what's going on around it.

14 Aug 2026

Miniature microscope tracks and activates single brain cells during movement

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz and the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a miniature microscope that allows scientists to observe and activate individual brain cells during natural movement, an advance that could accelerate research into how the brain controls behavior while deepening understanding of neurological diseases.

11 Aug 2026

Study uncovers brain mechanism that drives sustained motivation

What enables us to sustain effort toward goals, even when the task becomes increasingly difficult? A recent study by researchers at Nagoya University in Japan revealed the underlying brain mechanism, showing that orexin neurons play a crucial role in driving and regulating motivated behavior.

3 Aug 2026

New research explains how embryos establish germline cell boundaries

Every embryo of an organism that reproduces sexually faces an early and consequential decision: which of its cell lineages will make up the mortal body, and which will become the germline, the lineage that eventually makes eggs or sperm and carries genetic information to the next generation.

30 Jul 2026

New photoswitchable drugs restore light perception in blind animals

Blinding diseases caused by the degeneration of photoreceptors, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP), affect 200 million people worldwide and represent the leading causes of visual impairment and blindness.

15 Jul 2026

Brain histamine neurons control moment-to-moment memory accessibility

The same memory can feel vivid and accessible one moment, yet stubbornly out of reach the next - even when the memory itself remains intact.

11 Jun 2026

New ultrasound pacemaker design promises minimal recovery time for cardiac patients

MIT engineers have developed a noninvasive pacemaker that stimulates the heart using ultrasound. The design could one day provide a surgery-free alternative to traditional cardiac implants.

2 Jun 2026

New brain probe simultaneously records and controls neuron activity

A new breakthrough technology, co-developed by UCL scientists, that simultaneously records and manipulates neuron activity deep within the brain could transform our understanding of neural circuits and neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

1 Jun 2026

Brain immune cells found to regulate anxiety and grooming behaviors

A study led by a University of Louisville School of Medicine pediatrics and child neurology researcher reveals how a specific signaling mechanism in microglia, the brain's immune cell, can regulate anxiety and grooming behaviors. These behaviors are core symptoms of autism and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

14 May 2026

Serotonin may worsen tinnitus symptoms, mice study finds

The same neurotransmitter commonly leveraged to relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety also may exacerbate a vexing condition known as tinnitus, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

20 Apr 2026

Brain pathways combine memory and reward to guide behavior

New research from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) reveals how two different parts of the brain's memory center team up in a key reward region to help mice-and likely humans-combine memories of places and contexts with the drive to pursue rewards.

10 Apr 2026

Optogenetics News and Research

Prolific announces major new investments and partnerships with NantWorks and Zylidac Bio CDMO

Scientists discover a deep brain structure crucial for holding thoughts

Zylidac Bio and Prolific Machines partner to scale Prolific’s next-generation biologics manufacturing platform to GMP production

UC San Diego study achieves mind control by stimulating neurons

Internet-controlled brain implant enables remote neural stimulation and drug delivery

Loneliness can reprogram the brain to increase alcohol use

Neuroscientists study the brain circuits mediating experience-dependent decision-making in mice

Miniature microscope tracks and activates single brain cells during movement

Study uncovers brain mechanism that drives sustained motivation

New research explains how embryos establish germline cell boundaries

New photoswitchable drugs restore light perception in blind animals

Brain histamine neurons control moment-to-moment memory accessibility

New ultrasound pacemaker design promises minimal recovery time for cardiac patients

New brain probe simultaneously records and controls neuron activity

Brain immune cells found to regulate anxiety and grooming behaviors

Serotonin may worsen tinnitus symptoms, mice study finds

Brain pathways combine memory and reward to guide behavior

Researchers settle 60-year debate on the fundamental mechanisms of visual perception

New optogenetic method precisely controls marmoset brain communication pathways

Key gene mutation disrupts the brain’s ability to update beliefs in schizophrenia patients

Genetics & Genomics - Second Edition eBook

Latest eBooks

Editorial Focus eBook - Proteomics (2nd Edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Life Science Microscopy (2nd Edition)

BFEB: Advances in microplate-based assays and analysis

Biologics stability screening toolkit: Three practical workflows for accelerating formulation development

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery