‘Bionic Eye’ May Help Blind See: Retinal Prosthesis Shown To Restore Partial Vision (via ScienceDaily)
A new artificial retina, an array of electrodes implanted on the back of the eye, has been found to restore partial vision to totally blind people.
Stimulating Sight: Retinal Implant Could Help Restore Vision To The Blind People
Inspired by the success of cochlear implants that can restore hearing to some deaf people, researchers at MIT are working on a retinal implant that could one day help blind people regain a useful level of vision.
The eye implant is designed for people who have lost their vision from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration, two of the leading causes of blindness. The retinal prosthesis would take over the function of lost retinal cells by electrically stimulating the nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain.
Such a chip would not restore normal vision but it could help blind people more easily navigate a room or walk down a sidewalk…. (continues @ ScienceDaily)
Retina Cells Created From Skin-derived Stem Cells (via ScienceDaily)
A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health has successfully grown multiple types of retina cells from two types of stem cells — suggesting a future in which damaged retinas could be repaired by cells grown from the patient’s own skin.
“Gecko Vision:” Key to Future Multifocal Contacts? (via ScienceDaily)
Nocturnal geckos are among the very few living creatures able to see colors at night, and scientists’ discovery of series of distinct concentric zones may lead to insight into better cameras and contact lenses.
The key to the exceptional night vision of the nocturnal helmet gecko is a series of distinct concentric zones of different refractive powers, according to a new study.
This multifocal optical system is comprised of large cones, which the researchers calculated to be more than 350 times more sensitive than human cone vision at the human color vision threshold….
The nocturnal geckos’ multifocal optical system gives them an advantage because light of different ranges of wavelengths can focus simultaneously on the retina. Another possible advantage of their optical structure is that their eyes allow them to focus on objects at different distances. Therefore the multifocal eye would generate a sharp image for at least two different depths. Geckos that are active during the day do not possess the distinct concentric zones and are considered monofocal….
![A Perspective on 3-D Illusions
How could we have missed it? Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of visual scientists, psychologists, neuroscientists, visual artists, architects, engineers and biologists all missed it—until now. The “it” in question is the Leaning Tower Illusion, discovered by Frederick Kingdom, Ali Yoonessi, and Elena Gheorghiu of McGill University. In this illusion, two identical side-by-side images of the same tilted and receding object appear to be leaning at two different angles [see slideshow]. This incredible effect was first noticed just last year in images of the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it also works with paired images of other tilted objects.
(via SciencePunk)](http://26.media.tumblr.com/1jedb7fhal41gj6xKzXYeolao1_500.jpg)
A Perspective on 3-D Illusions
How could we have missed it? Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of visual scientists, psychologists, neuroscientists, visual artists, architects, engineers and biologists all missed it—until now. The “it” in question is the Leaning Tower Illusion, discovered by Frederick Kingdom, Ali Yoonessi, and Elena Gheorghiu of McGill University. In this illusion, two identical side-by-side images of the same tilted and receding object appear to be leaning at two different angles [see slideshow]. This incredible effect was first noticed just last year in images of the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it also works with paired images of other tilted objects.
(via SciencePunk)
