Goldstone Scientific Blog
Tissue Heating During Optogenetic Experiments Using Laser and LEDs
During a recent LinkedIn conversation regarding light sources for Optogenetics a concern was raised about LEDs causing heating of the tissue. The concern was based on information in a paper “Optogenetics in Neural Systems” published by O Yizhar et al., Neuron, 2011. A careful reading of this paper shows that the concern is relevant only to small LEDs implanted in the tissue, [...]
Illumination Inside of an Incubator for Optogenetics or Phototoxicity Research
Note: For the Latest information see “Illumination Inside of an Incubators and Co2 Chambers – Part II” One challenging application we get asked about occasionally is illumination inside of an incubator. These hot, humid and often crowded conditions make it difficult to deliver high intensity light. In one instance, a cardiology researcher using Optogenetics needed intense blue light over an [...]
What is Numerical Aperture (NA) and why would a neuroscientist need to know?
Someone once told me that neuroscientists are exceptional. Neuroscientists are not afraid of integrating many areas of knowledge and technology into their research and methods. Well, I can certainly say that neuroscientists have a lot of puzzle pieces to put together to get their research going. And with Optogenetics becoming more widespread I find myself explaining a lot about [...]