WEBVTT - Optogenetics: Controlling Your Genes with Light 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:03.440 Welcome to Stuff You should know, a production of I 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:12.760 Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:16.639 I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, and there's 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:21.160 guest producer Josh T over there, Josh T Josh Tizzy. 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:26.920 That's his new nickname. Okay, Josh nodding, goodhead, Yep, he knows, 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:31.639 he knows the score. How you doing, man? Oh, I've 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:35.000 had better days and weeks. But you know, if only 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:37.720 there was a la ed light, someone could blink in 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:41.839 my eyeballs and hits everything. I know. I that's actually 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:44.640 that was a question of mine, like earlier about you know, 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:46.960 could you just shine a light in somebody's eyeballs and 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:49.960 make this work? And I that's probably the future, but 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:53.000 who knows. It's not the it's not the present. Should 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:56.960 fortunately know? So um soon enough, Chuck though, soon enough. 0:00:57.160 --> 0:01:00.880 Just hang on another fifty years. Okay. So we're talking 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:04.200 today about opti genetics. And if that word doesn't sound 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:07.200 at all familiar, don't worry. It's only been around for 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:15.440 honestly fifteen years. It's like the cutting edge in um 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:20.000 manipulating the function of brain cells to make them do 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:24.240 what you want to do or to study brain pathways 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:28.160 to see which ones are responsible for what. And it's 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:32.959 really really difficult to get across in the details. But 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:38.000 it's one of those really interesting science tech things that 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:42.240 the broad Strokes are like really understandable, you know. Yeah, 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:46.920 I mean you're literally one day, hopefully well I don't 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:51.240 know about hopefully, but possibly going to be able to 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:56.559 turn on and turn off uh neural cells. Yeah, after 0:01:56.640 --> 0:02:00.800 we have modified them, right, so we can control them. Yeah, 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:05.040 and modify them genetically. That's a big, big key here, yes, 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:09.320 So but this is really important. Ed put this together 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:11.160 for us, and he makes a really good point like 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:15.360 if you read you know, kind of um cutting edge 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:19.920 side tech articles about this stuff, it sounds like we're 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:23.040 right there, like we're about to start, you know, flipping 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:25.799 on and off neural neural circuits and humans any day. 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:28.880 We're not. We are way far away from that. We're 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:32.280 still figuring out like the ethical and legal implications of 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:35.520 even beginning to try that. Yeah. I think the writers 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:38.960 like that get they get really excitable about stuff. They're 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:41.080 like fruit flies are so boring, and they're like we 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:42.760 could do this, and just think we could do this 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:46.000 and this, and it's like maybe one day, many many 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:49.280 years from now, but maybe not even yeah, because of 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:52.760 that whole moral and legal and ethical implications of it. 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:55.240 But I think, um, I think there are probably plenty 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:57.360 of people out there who are, like, my depression is 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:00.600 severe enough that I'm fine with the moral and ethical 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:02.960 implications of this. I just want this to to fix 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:06.800 things for me, because it could conceivably someday. But we 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:09.680 say that just to say, like, what we're talking about 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:13.440 is on the front tier of science. Although some of 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:17.040 the research that's been conducted has been successful, but it's 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:20.079 just been conducted in things like mice and fish and 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:24.920 fruit flies. Poor little well, we'll put a pin in 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:28.760 that one, not literally, but well maybe yeah, poor little 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:32.400 fruit flies done some things to fruit flies. So here's 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:38.240 the thing, right, the human brain is pretty complex as 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:41.080 far as organs go. You compared to your spleen, your 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:43.000 spleen is just gonna slink away and be like, there's 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:47.520 no comparison here. I just produced bile, you know. So 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:51.000 the brain is far more complicated than the spleen, which everybody, 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:53.960 everybody knows. And the reason it's so complicated because there's 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:59.360 so many specialized cells inside that brain. Neurons, right, Neurons 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:01.680 are just one tie put brains out. Yeah, and you know, 0:04:01.720 --> 0:04:03.840 we've talked about the brain a lot over the years 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:06.640 on this show, and we always kind of come back 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:08.920 to the same thing, which is as much as we've learned, 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:12.280 which has been a ton, there's still a lot of 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:16.640 shrugging in the room. Yeah for sure. Jeez, I don't know. 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:19.480 I mean, but when you look at the hundred billion 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:26.320 neurons and the quadrillion synapsies, yeah, thousand trillion, that's you know, 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.400 give it, I'm giving humans a break here that we 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:32.760 haven't figured all of this out at this point. We haven't. 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:34.760 And then you look at the brain it's just I mean, 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:37.920 you look AT's just a big, gross, lumpy, gray mess. Yeah, 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:40.440 it's like it's like a spleen on steroids. I know, Like, 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:42.440 who even wants to get in that thing to begin with? 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:46.880 People who like making squishy sounds at their finger. It 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:54.839 should be shiny and sparkly, and god, you gotta stop 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:56.880 doing that. It is a little sparkly though, if you 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:59.159 think about it, like it's shiny because it's got it's 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.599 coated and it's bathed in cerebro spinal fluid. Remember, Yeah, 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:04.679 I guess I've never seen a picture of the brain 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:07.640 when it's really donuts thing. I didn't know it's so 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:12.240 exciting looking, so so okay, So the brain is extremely complex, 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:16.799 and we figured out some stuff about it. Um. Mainly 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:19.200 what we figured out starting back in the nineteenth century 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:23.520 that all of these connections, these thousand trillions and napses 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:28.360 UM that that allow neurons to communicate with one another 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:30.880 and carry like an impulse through the brain. All that 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:35.240 is based on electricity chemical electricity right to where there's 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:38.640 a difference in the concentration of different types of ion, 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:43.599 say like calcium in potassium in the cell, so that 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:47.280 when it reaches a certain concentration, it actually generates an 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:50.920 electrical impulse, and then that impulse can be translated or 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:53.920 transferred to another neuron, and then that neuron may send 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:56.839 that electrical impulse on and on and on until it 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:01.159 finally reaches its destination where suddenly you're you're flooded in 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:03.960 dopamine and you're feeling pretty good because you just try 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:06.960 to crispy cream that was fresh and hot right off 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:10.400 of the line. Yeah, So like when you hear people say, 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:13.200 or us say, like when your neurons are firing, that's 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:18.240 literally what's going on. They are tiny little electrical charges. Uh, 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:22.120 we can call them action potentials, and they measure them 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:25.800 in tiny little Miller volts. It's adorable, it is. They 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:28.640 have little bow ties on and short pants. Yeah, but 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:34.000 there's little tiny electrical triggers that go off constantly, right, right, so, 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:37.520 or they don't go off, which which also has um 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:39.480 in effect as well. Right, So, like you can have 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:41.840 something firing firing and firing and that stops firing and 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:44.320 you're suddenly not feeling pain any longer, which is great. 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:46.000 So you want to have them on and off. But 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:48.599 it all is based on electricity. And we figured this 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:52.440 out thanks to a guy named Chuck. Are you talking 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:56.240 about Luis gi Galvani? Ye, yes i am. And you 0:06:56.279 --> 0:06:59.000 know that famous experiment with frog legs where you can 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:02.160 take dismembered frog legs and sprinkled salt on them and 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:05.520 they'll start twitching or whatever. Those are always creepy. Well, 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:08.640 this same guy figured out that you could introduce electricity 0:07:08.640 --> 0:07:11.080 into the brains of frogs and you can make the 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:13.640 frog legs kind of twitch and hop in the in 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:17.560 the brain of a dead frog. So it shows pretty 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:20.960 clearly that electricity is what move makes the brain move, 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.280 and that the brain is what makes the legs move. Right. 0:07:23.880 --> 0:07:25.960 And then later on there was a guy named m 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:30.840 Robert's Bartholow. Boy, this guy, did you look up this experiment? 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:34.640 I did pretty pretty pretty bad. Yeah. So there was 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:38.040 a woman named Mary Rafferty who had an ulcer on 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:43.800 her brain, which ended up resulting in a literal hole 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:48.080 in her skull. So her brain was exposed, and Robert's Bartholow, 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:50.920 I guess, was like, well, well, perfect, this is just 0:07:51.000 --> 0:07:54.480 what I've been waiting for, is access to a human brain. 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:58.800 So let me see if I can stimulate these neurons 0:07:58.840 --> 0:08:03.760 by looking at with needles her brain, and see what 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:07.680 happens when I stimulate that with electricity. And he kept 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:12.080 it super low voltage at first and noticed some things 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:14.600 like wow, when I poke here, her arm moves right. 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:19.679 He's like, does anyone have a question, But he ramped 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:22.400 that electricity up at higher voltage, looking for what he 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:28.560 called a more decided reaction, and he well, he argued 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:32.040 afterwards that he did not cause her death, but she 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:35.360 had a seizure. She went into a coma and she died. Right, 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:39.320 So the kind of the sticking point here is and 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:41.120 he was censured by the A M A. But nothing 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:45.679 really happened was that he was experimenting on a human being, 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:50.080 but not with the aim of curing anything that was 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.360 wrong with her. No. He even said in the study 0:08:52.400 --> 0:08:55.360 that he produced that anyone who tried to replicate this 0:08:55.400 --> 0:09:00.480 would be would be UM conducting like a criminal experiment. 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:03.199 It may be criminal. Redo it. Yeah, I'm good, right, 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:06.000 I'm all good, but just don't do this again. But 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:08.520 what's what was interesting to me is like it wasn't 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:12.920 until six that we started to um, like the scientific 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:17.240 community started to enforce informed consent after the Nazi atrocities 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:20.520 of World War two. UM, And this guy was was 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:23.439 carrying this experiment and I think in eighteen seventy four. 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:27.240 But even at the time, so in his defense, people 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:30.440 weren't about informed consent, and there were like the ethics 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:33.920 of scientific experiments weren't nearly as pronounced and structured as 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:37.439 they are today. And yet his experiment was still denounced, 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:40.600 like everybody could see that on some level that hadn't 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:45.080 been like elucidated, yet he had violated something which is 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:49.160 actually like the life of a person, like something's bothering me, 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:51.480 but I can't quite put my finger on it. Oh well, 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:54.240 now he's hit me with the electric needles in my fingers, 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:57.560 going exactly where he wanted to. Oh boy, the am 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:00.760 A actually banned human experimentation if it was not for 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:04.320 the purposes of saving a human life after this very 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:08.760 good stuff. So what we figured out though from Galvani 0:10:09.000 --> 0:10:12.640 and um barth Bartho, Yeah, he's got a tough one, 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:15.960 a tough last thing, Um and others who showed that 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:20.800 electricity is the currency that moves messages around the brain. 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:25.120 Um that you can actually stimulate the brain with electricity 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:29.200 to go around its internal drives and externally make it 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:31.920 do things right. But the problem is is like if 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:34.640 you're using the society of the brain, it's really clumsy. 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:37.480 It really like an electrical impulse is really tough to 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:40.640 keep localized. So if you're trying to just kind of 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:44.079 see what one particular type of neuron does, well, t 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:46.800 s for you because you're electrically going to stimulate a 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:49.720 whole bunch of neurons in the neighborhood and it's not 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:54.079 a very um a fine tuned way of studying how 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:56.960 the brain works. And again, it's really important that we 0:10:57.080 --> 0:10:59.760 understand what regions of the brain are responsible for what. 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:03.160 So if we're just kind of trying to see what 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.959 regions are responsible for raising your arm, we might hit 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.600 those neurons with electric needles, but we might also like 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:11.760 kick the leg out too. That just kind of it's 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:14.160 not as precise as it needs to be. Do you 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:19.280 want to uh use this repeated metaphor? It was a 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:21.960 fine metaphor, but it was a mixed metaphor, and the 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:25.520 first one really didn't work. Yeah, let's just go ahead 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:28.600 and say it, because it does get a little bit 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:33.040 more credible as the metaphor develops. But I agree this 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:37.400 first one was a little rough. But just just take 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:40.120 this metaphor, put in your pocket, everybody, and smoke it 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:43.520 with some salt. I don't even know what that means. 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:47.920 So imagine a neighborhood or a city, if you will, 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:51.320 with all the people, let's say New York City and 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:56.000 people everywhere moving around. These are your neural uh, this 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:59.640 is your neural network. Everyone's going places. They're taking subways 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.240 to run busses or driving cards, are walking. Some of 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:04.080 them have that have no conscience or in a horse 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:07.440 and buggy in Central Park and it's not trade to 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:12.960 the giant. He just stole it. And Uh, electrical stimulation, 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:15.800 which is something that deep brain stimulation we've talked about 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:18.200 on the show, with something we currently are doing and 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:22.960 are able to do just very imprecisely. So, Uh, that 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:27.160 electrical stimulation is like trying to learn about people only 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:31.520 driving Ferraris through New York City by setting a city 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:35.679 block on fire. That's where it loses me because it 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:41.040 doesn't make any sense. I just said, shocking entire city block. Sure, 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:43.520 I guess so, Yeah, that would have made more sense, right. Yeah. 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:46.280 I saw another analogy on you know how we always 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:48.520 say when you can't understand something, go to like the 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:53.400 kids science website. Sure, I found one called Frontiers for 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:55.800 Young Minds, and they were explaining up to Janet's and 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:58.520 they basically put it similarly saying, if you wanted to 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:01.640 study the movement of track Affrick in the city, Um, 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:04.760 but you wanted to see like like you were saying, 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:09.200 how ferrari Um car drivers drive. Um, you want to 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:11.240 be able to tell everybody when to drive. But the 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:14.199 problem is if you're using an electrical stimulation that doesn't 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:16.840 just tell Ferrari drivers when to drive and tells everybody 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:19.040 in the city you want to start to start driving, 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:21.720 and everyone starts driving, So it doesn't tell you anything 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:25.600 about just the Ferrari drivers. Yeah, that makes sense. And 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:29.120 by the way, Ferrari, you chucking me in Ferrari each 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:32.560 for all this buzz Ferrari marketing. Ferrari, I would just 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.400 like to drive one once. That'd be fun. Don't don't 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.079 set your slights higher than that, chuck. See if we 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:40.320 can get a free one Ferrari, just stress me out. 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:43.480 We'll sell it on Craigslist. I'm gonna park a Ferrari 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:50.160 in my driveway backwards. You back it in? Oh goodness. 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:52.840 Uh so should we take a break now that we 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.240 have a nice little set up in hand. Sure, all right, 0:13:55.320 --> 0:13:57.960 let's take a break, and we're gonna talk about potassium 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:20.760 and calcium and color dye right for this shock. Alright. 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:24.160 So people figured out pretty quickly that yes, electrical impulses 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:26.280 will make parts of the brain work, but it's not 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:28.720 very precise. We need a more precise way to study 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:31.440 the different parts of the brain to see what's going 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:34.960 on where at any given time. That's right, and enter 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:39.520 Lawrence Cohen in the nineteen seventies, Leonard Cohen's brother. No 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:44.560 it could be uh no, No, I was so disappointed. 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:49.400 I thought, wow, that's amazing. All the genius in one family. Yeah, 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:51.800 it's a lot of genius. Uh And in nineteen eighty 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:55.800 it was further developed by man named Roger CN, Leonard 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:59.320 Cohen's one time stage manager. Okay, it was waiting on 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:02.800 that is it c N? Is it c N d N? 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:07.040 I don't know? T S I E N anytime your 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:08.920 name starts with T S I seen one of those 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:11.960 is silent. Yeah, but I think they together make a 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:17.920 D sound. Oh really, I think so? In what language? Chinese, Mandarin, 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.880 maybe Cantonese, one of those two. Okay, oh god, I 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:26.560 feel like I'm drowning. It's okay, grab hold of me, thanks. 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:32.200 Uh So what they did was they worked on um 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:36.040 this synthetic die UM, like I said, coming in the seventies, 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:41.840 refined in the eighties by Roger T and Roger you 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:45.480 already yeah, you already talked about in the intro about 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:49.400 the action potential in a neuron that's created that little 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:52.800 electrical charges. It's not like it's plugged into something. It's 0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:58.920 created by concentrations of potassium and calcium shifting around right right. 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:02.920 So what they figured out, what Um, Lawrence and Roger 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:06.040 figured out is that you can actually introduce the synthetic 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.960 die so that the dye is produced or triggered or 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:15.960 it becomes a parent once calcium ion concentration reaches a 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.680 certain point. And if you know that a calcium ion 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:23.760 concentration will trigger this action potential, this electrical impulse in 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:27.320 the neuron, if the neuron suddenly is glowing or has 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:31.240 this dye colored dye that's showing up under a microscope, 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:34.000 you know that that neuron is just fired because the 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:38.320 calcium concentration changed enough for that die to become a parent. Yeah, 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:40.720 it's like the very easy way to say this is 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:46.040 scientists basically said, you know when someone uh metaphorically turns 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:48.040 on a light and that neuron that'd be great an 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:50.960 actual light turned on. Yeah, this is very similar to 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:54.280 that for sure, And it's still was a little it's 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:58.680 a little clunky, um because well, I'm not fully under 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:01.000 I don't fully understand why it's a little clink. I 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:04.399 think it's that maybe you can't control it. It's just 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:09.040 you can witness it. I think is the issue with it. Well, 0:17:09.160 --> 0:17:12.679 if we're going to further that metaphor, it's really giant 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:15.840 to escate fast to this point, but go ahead. The 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:18.280 next step would be, uh, you want to learn about 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:20.520 these Ferrari drivers in New York City, So you just 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:23.159 paint and inside and the entire city block instead of 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:27.320 shocking it with electricity or setting it on fire. But 0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:30.400 any car that's driving on that city plot city block 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:34.040 is gonna it's gonna glow or it's gonna move through 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:37.200 the paint. So you're gonna get car track. Sure, you're 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:39.960 gonna get glow paint all over every car. You still 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:45.840 are not just targeting the Ferrari. But it's better the metaphor. Sure, 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:50.040 that's right, much better, but it's still not precise enough. 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.800 And I think where it's lacking is that you, yes, 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:56.640 you can see now what neuron has just gone off, 0:17:57.320 --> 0:18:00.880 but you can't make the neuron go off. But but um, 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:05.359 Lawrence and Roger gave future researchers an idea. They're like, 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:08.120 wait a minute, we're onto something here, like being able 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:11.400 to to to see when a neuron has gone off. 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:13.560 That is a great idea. Let's figure out how to 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:17.199 do that but also make neurons go off. And to 0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:21.000 do this they turn to our friends in the sea 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:24.119 for help. Yeah, this is really interesting, and this is 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:28.760 where um genetics come into play, because it is it 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:33.640 is important to point out that neurons are basically the same. Uh. 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:38.200 They all contain basically the same genetic information even but 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:43.119 it's that mystery of the differences switching these genes on 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:45.920 and off, and why would one be switched on when 0:18:45.960 --> 0:18:48.800 another switched off. That's sort of like what makes them 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:52.800 unique among each other, right, right, So, like if you 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:55.680 have a human cell, especially like say a stem cell 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:57.720 or whatever, but any cell has all of the your 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:00.960 genetic blueprint, and it's just depending on what genes are 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:04.040 on or off that determines what kind of cell it 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:06.639 is and what it's responsible for doing. You know. So 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:08.880 maybe it's like a retinal cell and it detects light, 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:11.600 or maybe it's a cardiac cell and it it makes 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.800 up heart muscle. All of them have the same DNA, 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:18.480 the same genetic blueprint, but some of those genes are 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:20.480 gonna be turned off, some are gonna be turned on. 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:23.080 And the same is true for neural cells. To right, 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:26.760 you have neural cells that are responsible for releasing dopamine. 0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:31.200 You have neural cells that are responsible for sensing temperature. Um. 0:19:31.440 --> 0:19:33.600 You have all these different neural cells, and all of 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:36.479 them are roughly the same kind of cell, but they 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:39.600 have different genes turned on and off. And once you 0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:42.760 know that, and once you can differentiate between one gene 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:46.200 and another, you've just taken your first step towards genetically 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:51.040 manipulating these different genes, you know, and understanding Ferrari drivers exactly. 0:19:51.440 --> 0:19:53.960 So you brought us to the sea, and I jumped 0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:55.720 it right back out again, and now we are back 0:19:55.760 --> 0:20:01.280 at the sea like the manatee. That's right. But here 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:04.040 this is where it gets super super cool. Uh. And 0:20:04.320 --> 0:20:06.440 it sounds like it's confusing, but it's really not. It's 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:10.440 really pretty simple still. Um. There are genes in mother 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:13.760 nature that respond to light, and then there are proteins 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:18.080 that emit light when they're triggered by something. Flores Yeah, 0:20:18.160 --> 0:20:20.280 I like to say glow. In fact, if you'll look here, 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:24.520 I scratched out fluoresce every single time as you did glow. 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:26.439 That's a lot of work you put into those, just 0:20:26.520 --> 0:20:28.560 a lot easier to say glow. I think people get 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:31.359 it a lot better than Fluoresce. I watched Coming to 0:20:31.400 --> 0:20:34.720 America the other day of Man Soul. Glow is so hilarious. 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:37.560 It still holds up. That movie is even better than 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:40.159 I remember. Actually it's great. Yeah, it's when we go 0:20:40.240 --> 0:20:42.600 back to a lot. Like I knew Eddie Murphy was 0:20:42.720 --> 0:20:48.840 a charmer, but dude, that guy is one charming human being. Yeah, 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:51.520 all the all the barbershop stuff is just so classic. 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:53.480 It's great, but all of it like it really, it's 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:56.280 just a great, great movie. You know, they're sequeling that thing. 0:20:57.040 --> 0:21:01.240 They've been shooting it in Atlanta. Sequeling or rebooting sequel 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:04.639 Oh good? So uh. I mean, I think the the 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:07.400 easiest way to go about a sequel is what they're doing, 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:10.919 which is now King of Zamunda. Eddie Murphy has a 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:13.600 son who wants to find his love. Yeah, but I 0:21:13.600 --> 0:21:18.560 think everyone's back, like our Cineo's back. Sure they Oh, 0:21:18.640 --> 0:21:21.480 I'm not gonna be mean good. They found him in 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:24.200 great spirits and he was eager to work. He said, yeah, 0:21:24.240 --> 0:21:26.520 that's a great idea. I can fit it into my skin. 0:21:26.720 --> 0:21:29.440 Then he went, whoo, who did you see the Grammy's 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:32.560 the other day. I don't usually watch those either, but 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:36.320 I happened to see the entire thing, and um, I 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:39.560 didn't know that you were kidnapped and it was it 0:21:39.680 --> 0:21:45.840 was like um mel Gibson and um oh conspiracy theory. 0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:48.160 I was tied to a wheelchair and my eyes were 0:21:48.200 --> 0:21:51.200 taped open. So you watched all of it? Huh? Yeah, 0:21:51.200 --> 0:21:52.800 But I haven't watched all the Grammy since I was 0:21:52.800 --> 0:21:55.280 like thirteen, Bro, I haven't either. It was really something. 0:21:55.480 --> 0:21:59.080 It's like a marathon or an ultrathon really, but um, 0:21:59.080 --> 0:22:01.480 Tyler the Cree eat or did like a live thing 0:22:01.600 --> 0:22:04.480 and it was amazing. Dude. I've never heard a single 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:07.000 second of any of his songs or really him perform 0:22:07.119 --> 0:22:09.600 or anything, but um, I like that guy. Now, Yeah, 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:11.879 he's great. And you know I listened to that early. 0:22:12.880 --> 0:22:16.159 I can't even remember the acronym, but his sort of 0:22:16.880 --> 0:22:20.280 hip hop collective band that they all started out of that, 0:22:20.320 --> 0:22:22.480 like Frank Ocean came out of that. Tyler the Creator 0:22:22.560 --> 0:22:24.880 and a bunch of other guys whoa what's it called? 0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:29.760 Oh what was it? Do you know? Odd Future? And 0:22:29.800 --> 0:22:32.400 then it had another like five or six words after 0:22:32.440 --> 0:22:37.120 that Odd Future was the shortened version. Good stuff, very 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:39.960 good stuff. Thanks to Josh T for swooping in and 0:22:40.000 --> 0:22:43.960 that uh that the first Frank Ocean album was is amazing. 0:22:44.720 --> 0:22:46.640 I've not heard that either. Oh man, it's so good 0:22:46.720 --> 0:22:50.360 Channel Orange. I think I'm always confused by rappers who 0:22:50.520 --> 0:22:55.320 who just have normal names. Uh Frank Ocean. Yeah, he's 0:22:55.400 --> 0:22:57.840 kind of a singer, crooner type. I mean he does Okay, 0:22:57.880 --> 0:23:00.679 all right, now that makes sense. Yeah, he's he's awesome. 0:23:01.560 --> 0:23:05.600 So cheeze. That's how it happens. We're in the sea. 0:23:06.840 --> 0:23:09.840 We're in the ocean. The Grammys are over right. We 0:23:09.880 --> 0:23:13.960 have found genes that respond uh to light and also 0:23:14.040 --> 0:23:18.360 proteins and other organisms that emit light when triggered. I'll 0:23:18.440 --> 0:23:21.200 let you walk people through what those two things are. 0:23:21.320 --> 0:23:24.000 But the point is they said, we've got the two 0:23:24.080 --> 0:23:28.360 components to make this happen. We can build we can 0:23:28.400 --> 0:23:31.760 control jenes turning on a light, and we can also 0:23:32.720 --> 0:23:34.960 see what happens when something responds to the light. We 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:37.880 just need to be able to get these two things 0:23:37.880 --> 0:23:40.080 from two different organisms into one thing that we can 0:23:40.080 --> 0:23:45.440