When green means stop

(Institute of Science and Technology Austria) Optogenetics has revolutionized how researchers investigate cellular behavior and the function of large and interconnected tissues such as the brain. This successful combination of optics and genetics is powered by light-sensitive proteins, many of which have been engineered to bind to each other upon light stimulation. Scientists at IST Austria now expanded the optogenetic protein toolbox. They engineered a receptor that releases binding in green li...