Genetic engineering will bring sight to the blind people

Today it is possible to correct almost any vision from nearsightedness and farsightedness to amblyopia. But what if the vision was gone completely? Russian scientists claim that the case is not hopeless and help to the person can come to genetic engineering.

The technology, developed by scientists from Moscow state University, Institute of Bioorganic chemistry and Institute of higher nervous activity and neurophysiology of RAS, lies with genetic modification of certain cells of the eye that possess the ability to synthesize light-sensitive protein. To deliver the desired gene into the cells of the eyes and start the process of production of the protein will be used a special virus. As told in an interview to “Izvestia” head of the project, the neuroscientist Paul Balaban,

“We learned how to plant in living cells a gene that produces a light sensitive protein. Due to this, almost any cell can become photosensitive. 90% of blind people optic nerve remains intact, and is about one million nerve cells. On them from the open eye gets the image, but the cells can’t see, because they have no sensitivity. However, if each of these cells to teach to produce light-sensitive protein, they will be able to pass on to the brain quite a good image.”

Now scientists have completed the first phase of testing and preparing to improve the technology, and full-scale clinical trial is scheduled to begin in 2021-2022 year.

Genetic engineering will bring sight to the blind people
Vladimir Kuznetsov


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