British Team Transplant Cells in Blind Mice and Vision is Restored!

This can mean millions of blind people may once again see. The team transplanted cells known as rods in the eyes of the mice, these rods took root in the eyes and allowed them to see again. This is just remarkable if it can be applied to humans.
Kudos to the Brits!!

Blind mice see after cell transplant
Study offers clues to eye regeneration
By Gareth Cook, Globe Staff | November 9, 2006

Researchers announced yesterday that they have restored vision in mice by implanting new light-sensing cells in their eyes, a scientific first that offers hope to millions of blind people.

The team, based in London, said it has discovered a way to transplant the cells that provide night vision, known as "rods," from a healthy mouse into blind ones. The cells took root in the retina, and the mice's pupils then dilated when exposed to light.

A similar approach, the scientists said, might be used to replace the cells that provide daytime color vision.

Source

This won't work for people who never developed sight to begin with because the part of the brain that deals with processing images atrophies in the absence of input.

Originally posted by sardion2000
This won't work for people who never developed sight to begin with because the part of the brain that deals with processing images atrophies in the absence of input.

Can you not work it up to "match fit" over time?

Also, this would be good for those that have lost their vision due to certain accidents etc..

Nice stuff

Well we can wait and see where this leads to.. Hopefully this will lead to many new and amazing advancements for the blind

Can you not work it up to "match fit" over time?

I don't know how such a thing could be accomplished IANAB.

So many thing about the brain are still a mystery to us.

Like how to give a blind from birth individual the gift of sight...

Their part of the brain that registers sight never developed in the first place and the neural pathways as a result are configured in a completely different way then us "sighted" people.

The most interesting proposal I've heard is to shunt the information via a taste-bud that never gets used(or creating an artificial one). SO, instead of the signal going the usual rout, it will go through the eyes, into the artificial nerve, then rerouted to the taste-bud and then processed as sensory information.

I have no idea who they will be able to replace vision with that, but I read a report a while back that said the Marines were interested in such technology as it could give a person 360 degree field of vision. The how was left wide open however which makes me think this is an ongoing project, or just on the "wishlist", so to speak.

cool, But I'm sure its a while until it can be done on people...my guess would be 6-10 years.

We can do a lot of amazing feats with mice...and it takes a lot more work after its successful on mice to work on humans. But this is good news to all the millions of people out there that have lost there vision.