Severed Optical Nerves Can Be Made To Grow Again

Anonymous Coward writes: "It is being hailed as one of the most significant advances in nerve regeneration in a decade. After severing an optic nerve in rats, neurologists have found a way to reconnect it to the brain so that it once again transmits normal electrical signals. As reported in the New Scientist this achievement is a first in mammals, and may hint at ways of reversing some types of blindness in people. Scientists also hope to use a version of the technique to treat people with spinal cord injuries.

Pointless article

[Karma 50]

The people most interested in this article can't read it.

Is there an MP3 of chrisd narrating it available please?

VISOR eyes

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd rather have those visor-eyes that Geordi gets in Star Trek 8, to be honest.

Re:FIRST POST!

[renehollan]

... better that than listening to the KPMG [kpmg.com] theme song. Er, oops.

Someday the tables will turn...

[Rothfuss]

The team is currently studying the rats' behaviour to assess how good their eyesight is.

While the rat team is currently trying to figure out how to anaesthetize a large group of humans, and then gnaw their eyes out.

I thought 'optic nerves' were actually brain cells

[Anonymous Coward]

and not nerves at all. Either way, it would make a great message-passing backbone for a Beowulf cluster.

--Patrick Bateman, Esq.

This will help the MPAA, I think.

[A_Non_Moose]

None are so blind as those who can not see;
from the article:
The regenerated nerves also carried normal electrical signals, suggesting that they had rewired themselves into the brain, although the connections were a bit scrambled.

Does that mean we don't need DeCSS, once the MPAA requires, via a click thru agreement, no doubt, that we all be blinded before watching any of its movies?

Seriously, this is great news, now we just need to be able to regenerate brain cells, that way corporate execs will have more than one.

Oh, and find the "clue" gene...

;)

moose

.

Re:What if...?

[glwtta]

Potentially, but growing new optic nerves in a lab would make baby Jesus cry.

fix the optic nerve by a good poke in the eye

[binarybum]

"Finally they punctured the lenses in the rats' eyes which releases proteins called crystallins."

Well, we could repair your optic nerve miss, but it will involve crushing the lens of your eye. You'll be able to see again, but everything will look like it does in a circus mirror.

Re:I have to wonder...

[Lumpy]

However, it didn't take long for the brain to fix it. After a short while, the brain learned the error, and sensations came out in the expected place.

so that means your brain released a kernel patch?