Microbial rhodopsins are diverse photoreceptive proteins containing a retinal chromophore
and are found in all domains of cellular life and are even encoded in genomes of viruses …

Bioluminescence is the fascinating natural phenomenon by which living creatures produce
light. Bioluminescence occurs when the oxidation of a small-molecule luciferin is catalysed …

Channelrhodopsins are used widely for optical control of neurons, in which they generate
photoinduced proton, sodium or chloride influx. Potassium (K+) is central to neuron …

Modern optogenetics can be tuned to evoke activity that corresponds to naturally occurring
local or global activity in timing, magnitude or individual-cell patterning. This outcome has …

Over the past 10 years, the development and convergence of microbial opsin engineering,
modular genetic methods for cell-type targeting and optical strategies for guiding light …

Gallium nitride (GaN) light-emitting-diode (LED) technology has been the revolution in
modern lighting. In the last decade, a huge global market of efficient, long-lasting, and …

Light-gated rhodopsin cation channels from chlorophyte algae have transformed
neuroscience research through their use as membrane-depolarizing optogenetic tools for …

The electromechanical function of the heart involves complex, coordinated activity over time
and space. Life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias arise from asynchrony in these space–time …

ChRmine, a recently discovered pump-like cation-conducting channelrhodopsin, exhibits
puzzling properties (large photocurrents, red-shifted spectrum, and extreme light sensitivity) …

Organisms of all domains of life use photoreceptor proteins to sense and respond to light.
The light-sensitivity of photoreceptor proteins arises from bound chromophores such as …