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Neuralink's GMO-BCI patent, congressional $15B call to catch up to China, Onego Bio’s first commercial-scale pilot runs, Roche’s SBX sequencing, Yes to Orchid babies!, Valley DAO's EIR

Neuralink’s GMO-BCI patent

In US20230077899A1, the Neuralink team proposes to use genetically modified neurons as the bridge between the host’s brain, and the signal processor. Not only could these neurons act as sensors, but they could stimulate neuronal activity, even at single-cell resolution! In other words, N2 may insert a brain into your brain 🤯.

When neurons fire, intracellular Ca²⁺ levels rise. To read this activity, they built GCaMP, a fusion protein of GFP, calmodulin (which binds calcium), and M13 (which increases fluorescent response). To write neuronal activity, they encoded Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), a light-sensitive ion channel that opens when exposed to blue light, triggering action potentials.

Four designs are described: