Blindness Cure: Algae May Be The Key

Can blindness be cured with the single-cell green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii? It certainly may hold an answer to the cure for blindness, according to Wired.

These are round organisms that have two whip-like tails along with one "eye" that can identify the sunlight for photosynthesis. The "eye" may not really 'see' yet it has light-sensitive proteins to put back human sight.

By taking the algal protein channelrhodopsin-2 and transferring it into the human retina, scientists might be able to restore sight. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave permission to human clinical trials to test the theory through the company RetroSense.

By inserting channelrhodopsin-2 into the inner retina, the scientists conducted gene therapy for blindness using genes from algae, not humans, animals or mammals. Hence, according to Time, gene therapy is helping to restore vision.

RetroSense is planning to use optogenetics in humans for the first time ever, recruiting 15 patients blinded by the genetic eye disease retinitis pigmentosa for its clinical trial.

"We are looking to get it off the ground this year in the fall," says CEO Sean Ainsworth.

The special ability of Channelrhodopsin-2 shows good results in related areas of science. Its ability to get neurons to respond to light is important, according to Slash Gear.

The characteristic has altered the manner in which scientists study mice, rats and other organisms, leading to its use in optogenetics. It has given people the potential to see again, according to hngn.