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terpin t1_j3mbavf wrote

As someone that may have autoimmune retinopathy, THIS IS SUCH GOOD NEWS. It's really hard to tell if there's damage to the retina until it's really damaged (short of an ERG, which I'd have to go to another state to get) so knowing that it could be repaired later is fucking AMAZING.

We live in an amazing time!

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Darth_Deutschtexaner t1_j3mcffl wrote

I've got an astigmatism and a Optic Nerve Coloboma which has given me dim shitty vision in one eye. I'm with you fellow redditor

Edited for spelling

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terpin t1_j3mdar0 wrote

I've never heard of an optic collabera before but it's insane all the weird shit that can happen to your eyes!

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Darth_Deutschtexaner t1_j3mftpp wrote

Yeah it's a fairly rare birth defect, my retina specialist told me he has like 5 other patients that have it.

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TheBarrowman t1_j3nlh5j wrote

I've got Retinitis Pigmentosa. One eye is next to useless and I'm only 28. God, I hope this can help me one day.

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Eco605 t1_j3p51sf wrote

My mom has RP. She is 76 and completely blind. She found out in 1972 when she was 25 that she had it. She was born with a hearing loss, so together its Ushers Syndrome.

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TheBarrowman t1_j3pakzl wrote

I found out when I was 11 or so. Thankfully, I don't have hearing loss.

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Exodus111 t1_j3nxep4 wrote

Maybe we shouldn't put TOO much weight on the phrase "successfully made connections"...

But yeah, it sounds good.

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Is_ael t1_j3mfly7 wrote

You’re living in the last age of humanity

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cheeseless t1_j3nl7oq wrote

You've been playing too much Dark Souls. We're barely scratching the start of our history in the universe.

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SoulsLikeBot t1_j3nl9fe wrote

Hello Ashen one. I am a Bot. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee. Do you wish to hear a tale?

> “Noble Lords of Cinder—the fire fades, and the Lords go without thrones. Surrender your fires to the one true Heir. Let them grant death to the old gods of Lordran, deliverers of the First Flame.” - Fire Keeper

Have a pleasant journey, Champion of Ash, and praise the sun \[T]/

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johnsmithinmyass t1_j3o2li0 wrote

Call me a cynic, but i find it hard to believe humanity will overcome it's social and political problems before we get to the Star Trek future we all want. I hope for it, but i don't think it's gonna happen.

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azure-lane t1_j3oemvt wrote

People think that the future is either Star Trek or Mad Max, when the reality is probably somewhere in between, just like it has been for every age that preceded us. They predicted the jetsons in the mid 1900’s and the terminator in the 1980’s. We are closer to both but neither is totally correct.

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johnsmithinmyass t1_j3orzey wrote

I agree generally that people tend to assume the worst, but the reality is that since the 40's we now have the technology to actually end all life on earth in the form of nuclear weapons. We have never been closer to either outcome in all of human history. I am cynical in the sense that i believe human history will end in a fireball rather then a glorious space utopia. I don't see the middle path as a viable option.

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azure-lane t1_j3ot5fm wrote

Yes, but also we have VASTLY fewer people percentage wise living in poverty than at any time in history. Generally speaking, the last 30 years have been some of the most peaceful in human history. Communication lines between nations in conflict with each other have never been more open. It is both harder to conceal a truth and easier to drown it in misinformation. Humans now are way less likely to die of malnutrition amd starvation but way more likely to die of heart disease and cancer.

Even if nuclear weapons are launched, remember that humans survived the “summer without a sun” after the Krakatoa eruption in the 1800’s and Star Trek featured post-war apocalyptic scenarios before the utopia we all know of.

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chewwydraper t1_j3mbisy wrote

I think people have always had the attitude towards blindness as "ah well, whaddaya do?". It was just a luck of the draw and if you were unlucky, that was it.

It'd be amazing if it was something that could be treated.

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quats5 t1_j3mcrr2 wrote

We can and do treat the two most common causes of blindness in the world:

cataracts (which everybody gets if they live long enough; treated with surgery to replace the clouded lens with an artificial lens), and

diabetes (by managing the disease so that it does significantly less damage to the body, including the eyes).

It’s awesome to know we’re making strides in retina technology too (incredibly more complicated than replacing the lens in cataract surgery!) but don’t take for granted the incredible things we already can do!

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audiyon t1_j3no3jd wrote

I'm hoping for a cure for glaucoma.

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brownsauce33 t1_j3mcvqp wrote

I have a lazy eye and have had 3 retinal detachments, glaucoma, cataracts, and minor exotropia. Im basically blind in my right eye and the potential of going blind in my good eye as i get older scares me. This is some good news.

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LongbowTurncoat t1_j3nenl7 wrote

I was born blind in my left eye, from optic nerve damage, and I feel the same! I’ve always wondered if the technology to fix it would come around in my lifetime!

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garaging t1_j3pj93u wrote

Yooo, I so feel you. I hope you are as excited by this prospect as I am. I also have glaucoma, very aggressive case to boot. I'm still relatively young (far too young for glaucoma) and have no risk factors but I'm nearly blind in my left eye and am now at risk for vision loss in my right. I'm scared all the time as I've lost the majority of vision in just a few years but little bits of hope like this just fill me with wonder. I wish you so much love and luck, friend! Even though it's all up in the air, I'll consider this a good news day.

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nowonmai t1_j3qj9by wrote

I feel your pain. Similarly have had multiple detachments, each with its own set of complications. Damage to both retinas, and pigmentary dispersal syndrome in one eye.

Honestly my mental health is in shreds. In a weird way, it comforts me a little knowing I'm not alone.

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Similar-Guitar-6 t1_j3mwfjv wrote

There's a Noble Prize in there if the research team is successful with actually restoring sight to blind people. A+

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koh_kun t1_j3ooqgb wrote

It would be crazy if people who were born blind couldn't handle the new sense and end up gouging their eyes out.

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Z8S9 t1_j3oqmgq wrote

Why… why did you just fill my head with that

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BatteryAcid67 t1_j3mmp32 wrote

Could this also help with improving vision in the shitty-sighted?

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gljames24 t1_j3o472u wrote

Depends on the problem. Most vision impairments are caused by bad optics like myopia, but from what it looks like, this could help those who have retina damage from uv like welders, detached retinas, or even color blindness. It would be cool if they could also use this to expand our color vision!

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BatteryAcid67 t1_j3ocgjz wrote

That would be awesome! Yeah I just have astigmatisms but it keeps getting

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Airk640 t1_j3pkpn3 wrote

Even with these examples, this therapy wouldn't do much. The UV radiation off a torch doesnt typically penetrate deep enough to hurt the retina, just burns the cornea. A severly detached retina results in too much scar tissue to implant anything. Color deficiency.. 1 out of 12 men have it and live a normal life. Cell replacement seems like overkill.

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Shot_Sprinkles_6775 t1_j3mgb50 wrote

This is super cool for people who have gone blind after being able to see. But if someone has always been blind, their brain doesn’t know how to process visual input. If they are a kid they can probably develop the ability to do so. But an adult who was born blind may never see “normally” even if their retinas are functioning “normally”.

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urmomaisjabbathehutt t1_j3mi2nc wrote

Maybe one day we can "train" the vision area by stimulating it with electric impulses, who knows

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RahRah617 t1_j3pj62l wrote

Vision therapy is already a thing. It helped me see learn how to see 3D

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torsed_bosons t1_j3p80tz wrote

The overwhelming majority of people blind from retinal disease were previously sighted. Macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are the two leading causes of irreversible blindness in the developed world.

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SeasonedPro58 t1_j3pbwbk wrote

Retinits Pigmentosa is the same.

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THEMACGOD t1_j3puojo wrote

Down to about 10° fov… been waiting for that cyberpunk future where I can swap eyes, squirt in stem cells, or plug bionic ones in.

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UniqueGamer98765 t1_j3pjgma wrote

It's no different than gaining any other sense. The brain is really good at adjusting to new stimuli. New neural pathways are created all the time, and the brain can be rewired.

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wouldthatitwhereso t1_j3mwgns wrote

I had a retinal detachment last year. Operated on but only got partial vision back. I wonder if this could help? Sign me up for the beta.

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KiddoTwo t1_j3pl66f wrote

I'm so sorry. My FIL had the same thing, he has no peripheral vision.

My husband has had about a dozen laser treatments to suture l the holes in his retinas.

I am so hopeful!!!

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nowonmai t1_j3qjj23 wrote

I'm hoping it will, for both myself and for you.

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adamr_ t1_j3n78wy wrote

Modern science and medicine is incredible. We live in such an amazing time

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ConCaffeinate t1_j3nvgjt wrote

In college, I worked in a lab researching several forms of degenerative blindness. Hearing how this area of research has continued to progress is always heartening!

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[deleted] t1_j3n8u8m wrote

We also have several clinical trials with the hopes to restore hearing too.

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KhaosElement t1_j3nft22 wrote

I read rental instead of retinal.

Like, it's not even past testing and it's already a subscription service.

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kedson87 t1_j3nhlxa wrote

Yo I’ve got one working eye. My blind eye never connected the retina to the optic nerve.

How do I get it fixed? Slightly serious. Please.

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kagamiseki t1_j3pq9fd wrote

Short answer is that it's not possible.

Long answer, most likely, the muscles are weak and imbalanced from disuse, so you might not be able to point your eye in the right direction to even begin making connections. If all of the biology is OK, then some connections can (possibly) be made, but 1 million to 1 odds, you'll never ever be anywhere close to happy with the vision.

You'd have to cover the good eye, and go through life using only the blind eye, likely for years. Learn to feel things while looking at them, and hope that your brain makes the right connections between specks of light and the physical form in your hands. You might get to the point where you can see that you're holding a vague oblong mass, and guess that it's a fork because it feels like one. That would be considered a success by current standards. At best, that eye might help you fumble your way around the world, slightly better and safer than being blind. But reading, recognizing faces, probably never.

Protect your good eye. Don't smoke, keep blood pressure/cholesterol down, don't become overweight or diabetic. Avoid getting sick. See your eye doctor regularly. Most importantly, wear some sort of shatterproof eyewear at all times. You don't have "back-up" eye like other people. Be well.

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kedson87 t1_j3pr4pe wrote

Thank you so very much for your answer.

My blind eye follows my working eye, but is noticeably smaller due to its misuse. So you’re probably right on the money there.

I’m a healthy and active nonsmoker, and intend to remain so! I suppose the dream of magically seeing with my right eye has never been more than that, but I can’t help be a tiny bit hopeful when I see news like this.

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kagamiseki t1_j3prpp8 wrote

If your blind eye is smaller, it's called phthisis, meaning it shrank because the blood supply to the useless organ has effectively been irreversibly shut off (oversimplification). Even if the brain connections could be made, it still wouldn't be able to see because it will never have enough blood supply. You'd probably need a full eye transplant, and by the time we manage to do that, we can practically do full head transplants.

Really great progress they're making in the science though. It's a shame, about your misfortune.

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kedson87 t1_j3ps3ff wrote

My wife might quite like me having a full head transplant at times.

But, yes, my blind eye is smaller, tender to the touch (specifically on the side), has a pretty severe cataract and astigmatism. So your Reddit-diagnosis is probably right on the money. Thank you for your knowledge!

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StonerMealsOnWheels t1_j3n1jkf wrote

I've got retinopathy due to prematurity, I wonder if it could help me?

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TwinPurpleEagle t1_j3pxns6 wrote

I second this. I have ROP and I’m legally blind (left eye completely blind, right eye -22 diopters and 20/200 vision). The article didn’t mention anything about retinal detachment.

1

Likes_corvids t1_j3o3bdw wrote

This gives me hope for my husband. He suffered vascular glaucoma about 5 years back, killing the retina in his right eye. Here’s hoping this advances quickly enough we might be able to fix his retina in the next 3-5 years (I realize that’s a reeeallllly short time, but he just turned 70 so it would be wonderful if this happened before he’s 80).

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TheRichTurner t1_j3ogu13 wrote

Lab-grown retinal eye cells will also be available in the deli section at supermarkets soon. Yum.

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br0b1wan t1_j3mo8th wrote

All I can think of here is Chew from Blade Runner (the guy who designed replicants' eyes)

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Oberlatz t1_j3o69wu wrote

See I thought this was a mandatory step toward optical integration of cybernetics so we were walking down the same street

3

majdwhaffoab t1_j3nxnv5 wrote

This is huge news for me. I lost sight in my eye at 15 from a detached retina and this gives me hope.

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lostwolf t1_j3o2cbf wrote

Now if they could treat damaged optical nerves I would be happy.

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Witty-Lengthiness-18 t1_j3notv2 wrote

This sounds promising. My Grandson was in a car accident detached his retina in his right eye. I would be so grateful.

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ondrejeder t1_j3nzk6k wrote

There are lot of fucked up things currently in world but damn, I'm so happy we can get medical and technological advancements like this

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SodaPop6548 t1_j3o1681 wrote

Had optic neuritis in my right eye, worst thing that’s ever happened to me. Going through a whole slew of testing to figure out what happened, but I’m hoping this news means I can be 100% back to normal one day.

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Anra7777 t1_j3ouscf wrote

As far as I know, this does not affect me or anyone I know personally, but darn, I feel happy for all the people whose lives this could make better. Hail, science!

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razzec_phone t1_j3mksjy wrote

Could people eventually be able to use fully lab grown eyes to help fix issues like astigmatisms or is it still probably going to be eye transplants to fix them?

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To_Fight_The_Night t1_j3nah4b wrote

Okay this tech is so so so so so cool. If it advances I will gladly give up my eyes that have awful awful vision. Also...like in the future....we could ZOOM IN!

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Z8S9 t1_j3oqxly wrote

We are the Borg. Resistance is futile.

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TheMobHunter t1_j3o3reg wrote

“Ok we cured your blindness, that’ll be $5,000,000,000”

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dudoan t1_j3obuyg wrote

"Why do my eyes hurt?"

"You've never used them before."

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obi2kanobi t1_j3ot9cb wrote

Waiting for a cure for macular degeneration here.......

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ThiccSchnitzel37 t1_j3pm4h7 wrote

I had retinal detachment in BOTH eyes and my remaining vision is really not that good. Thanks to the amazing professionals it is still enough to get around and even play most games.

To think that this might be "repairable" in the future is so amazing and uplifting. When it comes to science and medicine we actually live in a very exciting time right now!

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Dymarob t1_j3pokt2 wrote

Ho. Lee. FUCK!!!

This is great news! Both my Dad and brother were born with only one fully working eye (They have both eyes, they just can't see out of one).

I started wearing glasses in high school and part of me worries that I'll go blind one day for no reason. It's an unfounded fear, but it's a fear nonetheless.

I love the future!

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SuperArppis t1_j3n6w2r wrote

Man. That sounds fantastic.

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thoomfish t1_j3ni3os wrote

Ah, Kos, or some say Kosm… Do you hear our prayers? As you once did for the vacuous Rom, grant us eyes, grant us eyes! Plant eyes on our brains, to cleanse our beastly idiocy.

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msmilah t1_j3nu1dt wrote

Will this help Stevie Wonder?

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Dannyfrommiami t1_j3nv94m wrote

That girl who tattooed her eye balls is in luck…

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EDNivek t1_j3nyn8y wrote

I read that as "Lab grown rental eye cells" and though well how do they expect to give them back?! will it be like a battlepass or something?

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BobMackey718 t1_j3o92iq wrote

So you don’t need a VISOR or cibernetic eyes to not be blind? That documentary Star Trek is bullshit…

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ADIDASects t1_j3obipr wrote

Get Stevie to a hospital!

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ucatione t1_j3ogpp6 wrote

Amazing and exciting news!

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HoodedSoldier t1_j3otg2c wrote

Where can I sign my dad up? He’s lost most of his vision due to a brain tumor he had removed.

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Aurora_Goreslinger t1_j3oyqo4 wrote

I have something where the eyeball isn't connected correctly to the brain on one eye. I'd be legally blind and unable to read and drive if anything happened to the good one. I wish they had something to fix this..

1

Available_Return6504 t1_j3p1h1b wrote

I wonder if It could treat basement membrane syndrome. Or at least the pain part!

1

mrevergood t1_j3p7cx0 wrote

One of my great-aunts went blind due to her untreated diabetes.

Would have loved to see her live to have some hope of seeing again.

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Prose4256 t1_j3pbz0z wrote

Oh Lord I hope so, praying for more success.

1

TeslaPills t1_j3pdlzj wrote

Wow this is pretty incredible.. are stem cells involved?

1

MrPresident2020 t1_j3pl2pa wrote

I would do this one day given the option. My apparently incurable vision kept me out of FBI agent training.

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np3est8x t1_j3pq3f9 wrote

Well I've got diabetic retinopathy so sign me tf up yesterday

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KiraKujo t1_j3pr6lu wrote

The future is bright

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quixotic120 t1_j3ptn2c wrote

I hope this works for myopic degeneration bc that is slowly robbing me of vision but I till have 20-30 years hopefully

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Marrked t1_j3pvs3f wrote

I see age related AMD referenced but what about Stargardt disease?

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godspark533 t1_j3q3ep9 wrote

Will this affect retinal scans for security purposes?

1

DarkGengar94 t1_j3q8ztn wrote

Cancer damaged my vision, I used bifocals since I was 8. Would this help me?

1

hyperdude321 t1_j3qdle0 wrote

Is there any chance that this would work for color-blindness as well? As a kid I dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot growing up, only to have those dreams crushed when I got diagnosed with a slight red/green color blindness. Even though I might be too old to ever hope of becoming a fighter pilot, knowing that a treatment for red/green color-blindness even exists would greatly help remove that emotional wound I have.

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MattBully27 t1_j3qp2m8 wrote

My father is nearly blind after multiple bouts of Ischemic Optic Neuropathy, which irreparably damages the optic nerve. It’s nearly destroyed his quality of life over the last several years.

I know it’s not the same as the retina, but how I wish a miracle of modern science could help to restore my dads vision in the years he has left.

Very thankful for science like this, regardless.

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VioletteFMR t1_j3u36iq wrote

Clinical trials begin in Februrary 2040.

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Evening_Condition_76 t1_j4jjfll wrote

Are these eye cells coming from the same sex trafficking organ donor market that is of ukraine. If ur scratching your head at my comment look it up. Truth is stranger than fiction #organ trafficking ukraine New world order 1 world government

1

Neirchill t1_j3ns049 wrote

Great news, probably going to make a lot of blind people upset, though.

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humanunit154-B t1_j3obskd wrote

Curing blindness would be cool, shame we live in a world that's fuck ugly

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ConsistentLie2443 t1_j3nvgi3 wrote

first person to get this better be funny enough to come up a zinger about all the horrible stuff he can see now

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