Algae May Help Reverse Blindness 47
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."
Re:Implants (Score:3, Informative)
I saw a TV program about these implants some time ago. For that particular patent, vision was in a 16x16 matrix (IIRC), black/white only, and not all the pixels worked.
The effective vision obtained from that wasn't much. Got the ability to notice sources of light, and when standing on the street the ability to determine whether there's a building in front. On the show the patient commented she hoped to be able to see her husband's outline and was disappointed she didn't see it.
Of course, it's an amazing development anyway, which will hopefully be developed further into something actually usable, but at least the one I saw wasn't good for that much.
Link (Score:5, Informative)