The Blind Can See

As I keep saying, most biotechnology is not controversial. This is amazing: Scientists have restored site with a bionic eye. From the story:

Surgeons have carried out the first operations in Britain using a pioneering “bionic eye” that could in future help to restore blind people’s sight. Two successful operations to implant the device into the eyes of two blind patients have been conducted at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.

The device—the first of its kind—incorporates a video camera and transmitter mounted on a pair of glasses. This is linked to an artificial retina, which transmits moving images along the optic nerve to the brain and enables the patient to discriminate rudimentary images of motion, light and dark…

Linda Moorfoot is one of a few American patients to be fitted with the current version of the implant. She had been totally blind for more than a decade with the inherited condition retinitis pigmentosa. With the aid of the camera mounted on a pair of sunglasses, she can now see a rough image of the world made up of light and dark blocks. She told Sky News: “When I go to the grandkids’ hockey game or soccer game I can see which direction the game is moving in. I can shoot baskets with my grandson, and I can see my granddaughter dancing across the stage. It’s wonderful.”

By the way, this breakthrough would not have been possible had it not first been extensively tested in animals, almost surely in monkeys. In fact, the UCLA professor driven out of research by animal rights terrorists was conducting experiments with monkeys that involved similar technology. But it may not happen now because those thugs cared more about the monkeys than they do for people who have lost their eyesight.