“Living Lens” Made From Stem Cells Gives Back Sight To Blind

You will think you are crossing the border towards Sci-Fi realm, but don’t worry – there’s no need to tread carefully with us because everything you will read below is as real as it is mind-boggling.

Researchers from Osaka University and Cardiff University have used stem cells to cure blindness in rabbits, thus making one of the most important steps toward giving back sight to human beings.

Scientists created living tissue in their lab successfully, with the purpose of repairing damaged lenses, retinas and corneas. Their achievement is in the form of a disc that can generate several different types of eye cells (!). That meant it could be tested on rabbits with vision-impairing corneas, in the hope that they could see again. According to their study, after the transplant, the animals regained sight!

It will take time until the team will be able to make their lab-created corneas or retinas compatible with humans and it will cost a fortune when they do, but nonetheless, their discovery is a huge development in stem-cell therapy.