"Going wireless is the future for just about everything!" That is a quote from scientist Sreekanth Chalasani, and we can't help but agree. Realizing this, a team of scientists has made a breakthrough toward wirelessly controlling human cells using sound, in a technique called "sonogenetics (声遗传学)." This concept may seem strange but let us explain.

Basically, the term "sonogenetics" means using ultrasound (超声波) to change the behavior of cells in a non-invasive manner. "We already know that ultrasound is safe, and that it can go through bone, muscle and other tissues, making it the ultimate tool for controlling cells deep in the body," says Chalasani.

Low-frequency ultrasound waves can target a particular protein that is sensitive to the signal. This research, published in Nature Communications, focused on TRPA

1. When this protein is stimulated through the ultrasound waves, it also stimulates the cells which carry it. What type of cell is being stimulated depends on the outcome. For example, a muscle cell may contract with stimulation, or a neuron (神经元) in the brain will fire. In this experiment, scientists genetically marked cells with an increased concentration of TRPA1, making them the key targets of the ultrasound waves.

Currently, treating conditions like Parkinson's disease requires scientists to implant electrodes (电极) in the brain which stimulate certain disordered cells. Researchers hope that sonogenetics can one day replace these invasive treatments.

In the future, the team wants to adjust the placement and amount of TRPAI around the body using the gene treatment. Gene delivery techniques have already been shown to be successful in humans, such as in treating blindness. Therefore, it's just a case of adjusting this theory to a different sound-based setting.

"Gene delivery techniques already exist for getting a new gene—such as TRPA1—into the human heart," Chalasani says. "If we can then use an external ultrasound device to activate those cells, that could really change pacemakers." There is still a while to go before this treatment can become a reality. The future for sonogenetics, though, looks bright.

On September 9, senior Andre Samaraweera qualified as a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship. In the spring, Andre will find out if he has qualified for the finalist position. "Seeing my score on the PSAT was by far the most exciting because it felt pleasant to see all my hard work pay off," Andre said. "I was happy that I could qualify to get a scholarship because of my academic scores."

The National Merit Scholarship is one awarded to those who do well on the Preliminary SAT or the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation will grant around 7,600 students the scholarship after an intense filtering of about 1.6 million entries.

"The most difficult part of the PSAT was actually having to study," Andre said. "I had to force myself to actually study, because I knew if I didn't, I wouldn't do well and would probably not make as high of a score as I had."

Andre took the PSAT his junior year and got a 1450/1520 and missed three questions in English and made a perfect score on the math portion.

As a semifinalist he has already passed multiple stages in the selection process and now competes with only around 16,000 students for scholarships.

The first scholarship opportunities are single-payment scholarships worth $2,500; the second scholarship is a corporate sponsored one which is for finalists with career plans the sponsor wishes to encourage. Finally there is the college-sponsored scholarship which is where officials of each sponsor college select winners of their awards from finalists who have been accepted for admission.

"It's just a PSAT. The real SAT has a lot more impact on my future," Andre said. "It's not hard to know everything for the PSAT; the difficulty lies in applying everything perfectly."

Jennifer Brophy, a professor of Stanford, is working on methods that she hopes will be used to improve commercial plant species so that they can survive harsh conditions. Initially, she studied green architecture in her undergraduate years. Once she started taking architecture classes, she realized it wasn't her passion—but when she encountered an article about a company that creates biofuels (生物燃料) from bacteria, something clicked. "I thought that was just the coolest thing. It got me really interested in pursuing bioengineering," she says.

Today, Brophy is developing new genetic engineering techniques that can help plants grow in various conditions. By changing the genome (基因组) of both commercial crops and soil bacteria, she thinks it's possible to help plants survive droughts.

Brophy is building what she calls "genetic circuits". Besides changing the genes within plant cells, this method also changes how and when those genes are triggered. If the plant senses a specific sugar, it can express one protein; if it senses another signal, it'll express a different protein. If both signals are there, the plant may be able to express something else entirely. "Using circuits to all these different inputs," she says.

"A plant doesn't necessarily know what's coming. It just knows whether it's hot or temperate (温和的) right now," says Brophy. This can lead to problems when weather becomes erratic. A plant that usually flowers in spring may flower in winter if there're a few unseasonably warm days. When temperatures fall again, the flowers die, which ruins a year of crops. "It'd be great to be able to communicate with plants to tell them, 'Hey, you should wait on that flowering, " she adds.

Brophy is still testing the concept in the lab using a small weedy plant called Arabidopsis. She notes engineering crops in the future may also involve genetically modifying soil bacteria. As the bacteria's surroundings change, they could potentially send out chemical signals that tell nearby plants to shift their growth accordingly. Brophy thinks engineering crops could benefit farmers and society at large.