The idea that you could silence or activate neurons with light is a powerful one incombinationwith the tools that Boyden and Forest are working on together.
Yet sceptics may again underestimate how quickly both can grow and what Zynga, for instance, is worth incombinationwith Facebook: taken together they look much like Tencent.
This has led to speculation that, should Mr Berlusconi fall, FLI might get togetherin parliament with centrist groups and the centre-left Democratic Party, a combination that would enjoy a slim majority, to support a technocratic administration.