Lissek Thomas
Department of Neurobiology, Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2017 Dec 4;5:53. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2017.00053. eCollection 2017.
Translating neural activity into nucleic acid modifications in a controlled manner harbors unique advantages for basic neurobiology and bioengineering. It would allow for a new generation of biological computers that store output in ultra-compact and long-lived DNA and enable the investigation of animal nervous systems at unprecedented scales. Furthermore, by exploiting the ability of DNA to precisely influence neuronal activity and structure, it could be possible to more effectively create cellular therapy approaches for psychiatric diseases that are currently difficult to treat.
以可控方式将神经活动转化为核酸修饰,对基础神经生物学和生物工程具有独特优势。这将催生新一代生物计算机,其能以超紧凑且持久的DNA形式存储输出信息,并以前所未有的规模对动物神经系统进行研究。此外,通过利用DNA精确影响神经元活动和结构的能力,有可能更有效地开发针对目前难以治疗的精神疾病的细胞治疗方法。