The gene genie: controlling genes with your thoughts

Researchers at ETH Zurich have created the first gene network to be operated via brainwaves. Depending on the user’s thoughts, it can produce various amounts of a desired molecule.

The team, led by Martin Fussenegger from the Department of Biosystems (D-BSSE), sought to develop a gene regulation method that enables thought-specific brainwaves to control the conversion of genes into proteins, called gene expression. They were inspired by the game Mindflex, where the player wears a special headset with a sensor on the forehead that records brainwaves. The registered electroencephalogram (EEG) is then transferred into the playing environment, where it controls a fan that enables a small ball to be thought-guided through an obstacle course.

The researchers’ system similarly makes use of an EEG headset. The recorded brainwaves are analysed and wirelessly transmitted via Bluetooth to a controller, which in turn controls a field generator that generates an electromagnetic field; this supplies an implant with an induction current. An LED lamp in the implant, which emits light in the near-infrared (NIR) range, turns on and illuminates a culture chamber containing genetically modified cells. When the NIR light illuminates the cells, it triggers an artificial signal cascade, resulting in the production of the desired protein.

Thoughts control a near-infrared LED, which starts the production of a molecule in a reaction chamber. (Photo: Martin Fussenegger/ETH Zurich.)

The implant was initially tested in cell cultures and mice, and controlled by the thoughts of various test subjects. The researchers chose the glycoprotein SEAP (secreted alkaline phosphatase) for the tests, an easy-to-detect human model protein which diffuses from the culture chamber of the implant into the mouse’s bloodstream. NIR light was used because it is generally not harmful to human cells, can penetrate deep into the tissue and enables the function of the implant to be visually tracked.

To regulate the quantity of released protein, the test subjects were categorised according to three states of mind: biofeedback, meditation and concentration. Test subjects who played Minecraft on the computer (concentration) induced average SEAP values in the bloodstream of the mice. When completely relaxed (meditation), the researchers recorded very high SEAP values in the test animals. For biofeedback, the test subjects observed the LED light of the implant in the body of the mouse and were able to consciously switch the LED light on or off via the visual feedback. This was reflected by the varying amounts of SEAP in the bloodstream of the mice.

“For the first time, we have been able to tap into human brainwaves, transfer them wirelessly to a gene network and regulate the expression of a gene depending on the type of thought,” said Fussenegger. “Being able to control gene expression via the power of thought is a dream that we’ve been chasing for over a decade.”

The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications. Fussenegger hopes a thought-controlled implant could one day help to combat neurological diseases, such as chronic headaches, back pain and epilepsy, by detecting specific brainwaves at an early stage and triggering and controlling the creation of certain agents in the implant at exactly the right time.

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