Gene therapy for Dominant Optic Atrophy

 Dominant optic atrophy is a genetic optic nerve disorder. The gene that is responsible for this disorder is the OPA1 gene. Patients who have this gene in an inherited genetic mutated form, have mutated mitochondria's in their optic cells resulting in this atrophy. A therapy has been developed by scientists at Trinity College Dublin. This gene therapy consists of injecting genes to help boost the production of these mitochondrion cells resulting in dissipating symptoms. So far this study has only been tested in lab mice, but is proving to be promising. This would be quite a breakthrough for the Optic focused side of the medical field. (Scientists develop new gene therapy for eye disease)

Source: “Scientists Develop New Gene Therapy for Eye Disease.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 26 Nov. 2020, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201126085921.htm. 

Links used: 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201126085921.htm

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2020.571479/full

Giant Squid, Giant Eyes, but Rather Small Brain Lobes

Many researchers have questioned the deep sea squid's large eye size compared to other creatures who have a much smaller eye size, such as the cephalopods. Research has shown that even though squids have the largest eye orbit in the animal kingdom, they also have a very small optic lobe. This explains that squids do not rely on visual cues for communication like the cephalopods do because the optic lobe, which integrates visual information with motor tasks, is reduced. This new research is of current fascination because it goes against common anatomical sense and raises the question for future on whether there is some other underlying biological reason for this difference in sea animals.

Article

Prosthetic skin can now feel touch

Prosthetic skin can now feel touch

by Andrew Smythe

Engineers at Stanford created a new kind of prosthetic limb that could sense and touch just like a human limb. The prosthetic limb has the capability of sensing any kind of touch, and sending a chemical signal to the brain. Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford and main contributor of the project, hopes to create skin that could sense the differences between any kind of physical stimulus, feel temperature differences, and possibly heal itself in times of injury. The first step was achieved by making the pressure sensing limb.

Bao and her research team used a technique called optogenetics, which was created by Karl Deisseorth. The idea was that they could alter the cells to sense differences in light in order to deduce a change in environment. Dependent on the frequency of light available, the cells would turn on or off. If the cells were to be turned on, then they would send the electrical signal, and relay it to the neurons in the brain.

The next step for Bao's research group is to apply a two-ply plastic construct method. The top layer of the construct feels pressure against human skin, and the bottom layer would create a biochemical stimulus that would serve as a signal for the neurons. In addition to the six available biomechanisms of touch, the two-ply method would create more possible sensations for the limb to feel

Original Article

Other Article