Algae May Help Reverse Blindness

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."

Implants

[KiloByte]

Well, but how does this compare to the nice infrared/ultraviolet/X-ray vision thingies [slashdot.org]?

Ah, the choice...

Re:What about interpretation?

[bcmm]

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.

Re:What about interpretation?

[Maset]

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.