Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Algae May Help Reverse Blindness

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the a-good-day-for-eyes dept.

Anonymous coward writes ""Could a protein from algae help reverse blindness? Blind mice were able to respond to light after researchers inserted a green algae protein into retinal nerve cell membranes that normally aren't sensitive to light, according to a U.S. study," as reported by Forbes. There are more details at the Neurodudes blog, which includes a description of the novel method, which can convert any cell - nerve, muscle, etc. - into a light-sensing cell."

3 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. Implants by KiloByte · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, but how does this compare to the nice infrared/ultraviolet/X-ray vision thingies?

    Ah, the choice...

    --
    The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  2. Re:What about interpretation? by bcmm · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That's the odd thing about the human brain. It's normally very good at working out how to interpret incoming data, given enough time to get used to it. There's even been some success in using a grid of electrodes on the abdomen to simulate vision in blind people, using a camera to work out how much power to give each one.

    --
    # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
    Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
  3. Re:What about interpretation? by Maset · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) normally take input from a range of photoreceptors and pass this down the chain to the visual cortex. I imagine this replacement therapy would result in a much more grainy image, but one that the brain can adapt to.