Pace makers are wondrous things. They prolong the lives of many people – however they are not without fault. Pace makers are typically controlled by electrical impulses delivered to the heart via a series of electrodes. These electrical impulses can do a lot of damage to the muscles surrounding the heart over the course of a few years. The method utilised to do this also requires direct contact with the heart. Because installing the pace maker requires a great deal of time and expertise because surgeons need to actually cut their way into the chest means that in order to tweak the settings or location of the electrodes can be quite a difficult task.

This is where recent research comes into play that has allowed researchers to control the speed of an embryonic heartbeat with pulses of light. Although the technology used to train cells via interaction with light is … Read More