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Not just light: the sensitivity of photoreceptors to mechanical stimuli is unveiled

Thanks to optical tweezers, a new study reveals unexpected properties of the neurons responsible for the transduction of light signals

Torre Image Fotorecettore

“We thought we knew almost everything about photoreceptors, but we have proved that is not the case”. With these words, Vincent Torre, Professor of neurobiology of SISSA, comments the results of a new study that, thanks to a multidisciplinary approach and to the use of optical tweezers, reveals for the first time the sensitivity of nerve cells present on the retina to mechanical stimuli and opens up new questions on how they function. The work has been published in PLOS Biology.

 

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