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Scientists Reverse Engineer Animal Brains To Create Bionic Prosthetic Eyes
MrSeb writes "Utilizing neuroscience, gene therapy, and optogenetics, a pair of researchers from Cornell University have created a bionic prosthetic eye that can restore almost-normal vision to animals blinded by destroyed retinas. Prosthetic eyes have been created before, but for the most part these have been dumb prosthetics — chips that wire themselves into the ganglion cells behind the retina, which are the interface between the retina and optic nerve. These chips receive optical stimuli (via a CMOS sensor, for example), which they transmit as electrical signals to the ganglion cells. These prosthetic eyes can produce a low-resolution grayscale field that the brain can then interpret — which is probably better than being completely blind — but they don't actually restore sight. The Cornell prosthetic eye however, developed by Sheila Nirenberg and Chethan Pandarinath, is a much closer analog to a real eye, almost completely restoring sight in mice — and within 1 or 2 years, humans (PDF)."
Art and science constantly seem to follow and build upon the advances of each other. Great ideas... the results of imagineering or "the big, fantastic think," seem to emerge in one to support or catalyze forward motion in the other.
While I'm not eager to incorporate bioengineering into my person, I also am not a position where my quality of life would be marginally improved by such. I'm confident that my perspective is colored by my current capabilities and would necessarily change if my capabilities were different. This is the stuff of science fiction... and science.
Shouldn't we have to invent the VISOR before we start creating prosthetic eyes?
Donate free food here
I would like mine with a HUD, infrared/night vision, and 50x zoom.
sudo make me a sandwich
Now tell me how we could have simulated this and tested it in a computer model, PETA guys.
*crosses arms and taps foot*
--
BMO
. . .seem to see things thou dost not.
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
My jaw dropped in amazement. The fact the technique is extensible to other sensory and brain malfunctions seems to be just icing on the cake.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
He slipped up a single number by a factor of one? For Joe Biden that's a very good day. And you didn't even bring up the part where he gave BJs to his Hollywood masters later in the day. You're just terrible at trolling.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Obligitory XKCD
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
I want the eyes that Judge Dredd got when his eyes got damaged.
Ability to see from deep in the microwave to high UV.
Micro and telescopic lens function
Access to information (like Google's glasses)
And I think targeting interface to his Law Giver if I'm not mistaken.
My wife does. She also went to a Star Trek convention this year and left at home to watch our child! I think I have been assimilated!
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Can I get one right on the back of my head?
Oh, and one on each foot, facing upwards. Just in case.
You are welcome on my lawn.
"Blue. Tally Isham blue. The clear trademark blue they're famous for, Zeiss Ikon ringing each iris in tiny capitals, the letters suspended there like flecks of gold."
There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
"If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes!"
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
That was my first thought.
Okay. These researchers figured out the coding sequence for the retina/nerve interface. Basically they figured out TCP/IP for your eyes. And they designed an "honest" retina that mimics a regular retina.
I'll stop there for a moment and say WOW. Nicely done, absolutely thoroughly amazing.
But then let's up the ante and have the circuitry they are using employ infrared detection. Not too difficult to do, we've been making these kinds of devices for many decades. And the same goes for a x50 zoom. Easy peasy.
A HUD display would be possible too. Watch the TED lecture at the bottom of the article. This lady KNOWS THE ENCODING that your eyes use! She can actually take the pulses transmitted to the brain and solve them backwards to see what you were looking at! With that kind of knowledge making something that transmits a generated image would be simple.
This is a *gigantic* breakthrough.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
Ohhh excuses excuses excuses, you leftists and your lying double standards make me want to throw up.
I'm sorry you feel that way about us. Here, you can borrow my "NPR Donor" tote-bag to catch the vomit. Then just wash it with an environmentally friendly phosphate free soap, and return it to me when you can.
Now you can see what I mean!
-- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
What are you talking about? She was given three rescued and sightless mice to work with, who's tails had been cruelly shortened by their previous caretaker (the bitter spouse of a guy working at a meat processing facility). Now she was able to restore sight to them, and you should see how they run now! See how they run!
The monkey used was also a rescue who has two siblings, one who cannot hear, and one who cannot make vocal noise.
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
I think that was actually a agricultural workers wife who took retribution on the poor little blind creatures for giver her such a fright.
I like your signature. How did you come up with it??
For a while on every story was a post by someone asking what a word in the summary was and why was that word not explained.
In each case it would have been easier for the person to look it up rather than ask.
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
That would be impressive. It would be almost as impressive as you living without the need to purposely harm other subjugated species on this planet for you betterment.
Zombie movies have ruined me for life. I read the headline and now all I can think about is a bunch of scientist shuffling through a lab screaming "BRAINS!!!".
10: PRINT "Everything old is new again."
20: GOTO 10
At the rapidly accelerating rate of fascism in the US and elsewhere (written on the eve of the British government invading the Ecuadorian embassy), the only high tech us proles will experience will be the tools of oppression; the cool tech - bio included - will be reserved soley for the 1% power elite.
Don't worry, I told her to watch out for Riker!
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling