Controlling worms with magnets

According to a post at Wired Science, scientists can use magnets to control worms, which is pretty sick.  Apparently, magnetic nanoparticles attach themselves to cell membranes and heat up in the presence of an applied magnetic field.  The heat causes calcium ion channels to open, which activates neurons, I guess.

Kinda cool, right?

The technology isn't directly applicable to humans right now.

Also, I'd like to take a moment to point out that I've spent the last three weeks wading through articles from peer-reviewed journals to put together research for a project.  As an undergrad, this is a new and riveting experience, so going back to popular science articles - like this one - is delightful.

W