Researchers Use Ultrasound to Control Neurons in Mice
A study shows “sonogenetics” could be a useful new tool in neuroscience and other fields.
ABOVE: Corinne Lee-Kubli, Chalasani Lab
Researchers Use Ultrasound to Control Neurons in Mice
Researchers Use Ultrasound to Control Neurons in Mice

A study shows “sonogenetics” could be a useful new tool in neuroscience and other fields.

A study shows “sonogenetics” could be a useful new tool in neuroscience and other fields.

ABOVE: Corinne Lee-Kubli, Chalasani Lab
ultrasound
Sound Waves Aid Brain Tumor Treatment
Ruth Williams | Oct 13, 2021
In a small clinical study, focusing ultrasound beams on tumors in patients’ brains helped open the blood-brain barrier to facilitate drug delivery.
Brain Stimulation Tested to Awaken Coma Patients
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Two out of three people who received noninvasive ultrasound appear to have gained some level of consciousness, according to preliminary trial results.
Ecuadorian Cactus Absorbs Ultrasound, Enticing Bats to Flowers
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Many plants reflect ultrasonic waves, thereby attracting the pollinators, but one cactus takes a different approach.
Image of the Day: It’s a Shark!
Carolyn Wilke | Jan 8, 2019
A newly developed underwater ultrasound reveals a fetal shark swimming between the two uteri of its mother.
Image of the Day: Whale Shark Sonogram
Ashley Yeager | Nov 2, 2018
Scuba diving alongside the fish, scientists used ultrasound equipment to image females’ reproductive organs.
Ultrasound Opens Blood-Brain Barrier in Alzheimer’s Patients
Ashley Yeager | Jul 26, 2018
A Phase 1 clinical trial shows the noninvasive technique is safe and could aid in the delivery treatments to the brain.
A Noninvasive Way to Control Individual Brain Regions
Catherine Offord | Jul 13, 2018
Researchers use a combination of ultrasound waves, genetic engineering, and synthetic drugs to switch specific neurons on and off in mice.
Ultrasound Fires Up the Auditory Cortex—Even Though Animals Can’t Hear It
Abby Olena | May 24, 2018
Researchers have been using ultrasound to control brain activity, but studies in mice and guinea pigs show it also stimulates the auditory system, presenting a confounder for direct neural stimulation.
Getting Drugs Past the Blood-Brain Barrier
Amanda B. Keener | Nov 1, 2017
To treat neurological disease, researchers develop techniques to bypass or trick the guardian of the central nervous system.
Infographic: Breaking into the Brain
Amanda B. Keener | Oct 31, 2017
The blood-brain barrier is a collection of specialized cells and proteins that control the movement of molecules from the blood to the central nervous system.
Bubbles for Broken Bones
Ruth Williams | Sep 1, 2017
Ultrasound-stimulated microbubbles enable gene delivery to fix fractures.
Infographic: Ultrasound-Stimulated Microbubbles Fix Fractures
Ruth Williams | Aug 31, 2017
The new technique helped pig tibias heal in just eight weeks.
Zika and Birth Defects
Catherine Offord | Mar 8, 2016
A study provides stronger evidence for the causal link between Zika infection and microcephaly, and warns of a host of other birth defects associated with the virus.
Stimulating Neurons with Sound
Kate Yandell | Sep 15, 2015
Researchers present sonogenetics, a technique to activate select Caenorhabditis elegans neurons with ultrasound waves.
Mums Tell Dads to Care
Dan Cossins | Jan 8, 2013
Mouse mothers emit ultrasound vocalizations and odor cues to stimulate otherwise uninterested fathers to provide parental care to their pups.
Space Rocks
Cristina Luiggi | Jun 1, 2012
Orbiting ultrasound machines are being used to diagnose and treat astronauts' kidney stones.
Brainspotting
Amber Dance | Dec 1, 2011
New, minimally invasive techniques for seeing deep inside living brains
QBit 7 ultrasound