Laser successfully controls the heartbeat of fruit flies: or replaces cardiac pacemakers

  In recent breakthrough experiments, researchers have successfully used lasers to control the heart rate of flies. The researchers say that this technology may play a role in regulating arrhythmia in fruit flies, stabilizing the heartbeat, and replacing pacemakers in the future. Unlike the electronic pulses emitted by cardiac pacemakers, this technology uses lasers and is a non-invasive treatment.

  The research object used by the

  team is fruit flies, which have many similarities with vertebrates in early heart development.

  "Currently, electrical stimulation is the most commonly used cardiac pacing method, and it is impossible to treat heart tissue."

  Before the experiment, the researchers said that Drosophila genes have been modified so that the heart cells carry the light-sensitive protein (channelrhodopsin-2) present in the eyes. When a blue laser pulse hits the heart of a fruit fly containing a photosensitive protein, each pulse causes the heart to contract. The researchers used real-time imaging technology specifically designed for this experiment to image and monitor the response of the fruit fly heart to laser pulses.

  Anish uses this technology? Alex and his colleagues can freely control the heartbeat of fruit flies to increase or slow down their speed. From larvae, p to adults, this technique is applicable to fruit flies in all life stages. The researchers also conducted a series of safety studies to confirm that the technology does not have long-term, major side effects on the development of the heart of fruit flies.

  Lasers are commonly used to control nerve function and are widely used in the field of neuroscience, but the use of lasers to regulate heart rhythm is still relatively limited (although Zebra’s latest research on fish and laboratory mice shows that lasers affect heart rhythm. The research team said that in the fruit The technology successfully implemented in flies can also be transformed and applied to humans, because about 75% of the genes that cause human diseases are found in fruit flies. The research team concluded that this technology "helps study the mechanism of human arrhythmia , And can lay the foundation for the birth of a new generation of CD-ROM pacemakers and muscle drivers."

  research process

  Researchers first bred a group of genetically modified fruit flies. Their heart cells contain light-sensitive proteins extracted from algae. Next, they irradiated the heart of the fruit fly with a laser, allowing it to penetrate the fruit fly’s exoskeleton and activate these cells containing light-sensitive proteins. Next, the researchers used real-time imaging technology designed specifically for this experiment to image and monitor the response of the fruit fly heart to the laser pulse.

  What is a pacemaker?

  The most common cardiac pacemaker was developed in the 1950s. The principle is that the heart is an organ that can discharge electricity.

  Every natural heartbeat is triggered by electrical pulses. Electrical pulses pass through heart cells, causing them to contract, thereby transporting blood throughout the body. The electronic cardiac pacemaker implanted in the body sends a series of regular electronic pulses to the heart tissue through the electrodes to maintain a stable heart rhythm.