Nature:
For the first time, researchers have used a laser beam to
control a heartbeat. Michael Jenkins, a biomedical engineer at
Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and his
team report in
Nature Photonics
that they succeeded in syncing the heartbeats of embryonic
quails with infrared lasers. More studies are needed, but their
initial results indicate that lasers could be used to study how
hearts form and such conditions as congenital heart defects and
could possibly lead to the development of light-based
pacemakers. Although it has been known for some time that light
can stimulate nerve activity, researchers still don't know how
light controls heart rate.
