An article in the New York Times titled, “Scientists Partially Restored a Blind Man’s Sight With New Gene Therapy,” highlights a technique called optogenetics, where “researchers added light-sensitive proteins to the man’s retina, giving him a blurry view of objects.” The article reports that, “a team of scientists announced Monday that they had partially restored the sight of a blind man by building light-catching proteins in one of his eyes. Their report, which appeared in the journal Nature Medicine, is the first published study to describe the successful use of this treatment.”
The report is available in Nature Medicine.
Read the full article on the New York Times website.
UC Berkeley’s Ehud Isacoff (professor of Neurobiology) and John G. Flannery (professor of Optometry and Vision Science) are also engaged in optogenetics, and have founded a similar company called Vedere Bio that was acquired last October by Novartis.