Other than surgery, drugs are mainstays of disease therapy. We take chemicals to treat ourselves, but why is that? Why chemical, as opposed to light, ultrasound, electricity, odors, or some other type of intervention? The reason is that plants, from which most of our drugs come, have spent millions of years engaged in medicinal chemistry, and have created some of the most potent biological molecules.

But there are exceptions. For example, one group at Harvard recently published that exposing mice to flashing lights cleared beta amyloid plaque in the brain. This was likely because the flashing light drove gamma oscillations in the brain. Continue reading “Beyond Drugs” →