Among the various categories of substances that act as neurotransmitters the major "workhorse" neurotransmitter of the brain is glutamic acid or glutamate. Glutamate is the major brain chemical that increases nerve-cell activity in mammalian brains and is involved in everything from learning and memory to mood and perception. Too much glutamate is believed to contribute to conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Until now it has been impossible to accurately measure the levels of important chemicals in living brain cells in real time and at the level of a single cell. Scientists at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Plant Biology and Stanford University are the first to overcome this obstacle by successfully applying genetic nanotechnology using molecular sensors to view changes in brain chemical levels. The sensors alter their 3-dimensional form upon binding with the chemical, which is then visible via a process known as fluorescence resonance energy transfer, or FRET. The nanosensors are introduced into nerve cells to measure the release of the neurotransmitter. The scientists feel that the fluorescent imaging technique allows them to see that living cells do their jobs live and in color. This will be usefull to the researchers to better understand as to when and how glutamate is produced, secreted, reabsorbed, and metabolized in individual brain cells, in real time and to construct new drugs.