Light-Controlled Pain Relief Could Banish Novocaine Face
Syndrome  New research could mean no more droopy numb face after
you leave the dentist. Scientists are working on a precise form
of anesthesia controlled by light.  A new molecule could allow
doctors to specify which nerves are quickly turned on and off to
pain using specific wavelengths. It's part of a budding new
field called optogenetics in which scientists have developed
ways to manipulate cells in living organisms using light. In new
research published in Nature Methods, researchers at the
University of California at Berkeley, the University of Munich
and the University of Bordeaux developed a molecule they call
QAQ that acts like lidocaine, a commonly used anesthetic. Once
inserted into nerves responsible for perceiving pain, the new
molecule can block the ion channels responsible for pain when
exposed to a specific wavelength of light.  The researchers
tested the technique in rats, but they had to manually insert
QAQ into cells, which is somethin