Researchers at University of Virginia demonstrated that it is possible to remotely control specific brain circuits in living animals with just magnets. The finding paves the way for magnetic mind control to help study the functions and malfunctions of the brain—plus the use of 'magneto-genetic' therapies to treat brain disorders. The researchers tested a hybrid protein dubbed Magneto (made by fusing the gene for TRPV4 to a gene for an iron-hoarding protein called ferritin) in mice. By making Magneto active in cells that are responsive to dopamine—a neurotransmitter critical for reward-motivation pathways in the brain—the researchers could charm the mice into preferring an area of a chamber with a magnetic field. http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/magnetic-mind-control-works-in-live-animals-makes-mice-happy/ Research paper
