What would life be like if we could download the neural patterns of a memory and upload them to experience that exact memory in the future? What if we could help blind people see by reactivating their retinal cells? Well, scientists like Ed Boyden and Karl Deisseroth are on the verge of making these seemingly impossible ponderings a reality. In fact, in Ed Boyden’s lab, they have made blind mice effectively seeing mice by activating their retinal ganglion cells with…LIGHT. This was one of the most exciting fields of neuroscience for me when I was a student, and I love keeping up with it and seeing people like Ed Boyden giving this information to the greater public at events like TED.

Watch Ed Boyden’s TED talk below the cut to find out more about this amazing science called Optogenetics.