After a lifetime of blindness, newly sighted can immediately identify human locomotion
Study on blind patients who recovered their sight suggests rethinking the belief that babies learn to recognize human movement through visual exposure.
Vision is key to spatial skills
Neuroscientists find that the ability to imagine spatial structures improves dramatically after blind children’s sight is restored.
New system allows robots to continuously map their environment
Algorithm to build 3-D maps requires a low-cost camera, no human input.
‘Radar for the human eye’
Inexpensive hand-held device developed at MIT could detect cataracts even at the earliest stages.
Seeing the light
Optogenetic technology restores visual behavior in mice, holds promise for treating human blindness.
Shedding light on a longstanding puzzle
Study of blind children in India helps answer a 300-year-old philosophical question.
Parts of brain can switch functions
In people born blind, brain regions that usually process vision can tackle language.
Younger brains are easier to rewire
Study of blind patients supports the idea that there is a period early in a person’s development when brain regions can switch functions.
In the World: Easy on the eyes
Simple, low-cost device that affixes to a cell phone could provide quick eye tests throughout the developing world.
Stimulating sight
Led by electrical engineering professor John Wyatt, team develops retinal implant that could help restore useful level of vision to certain groups of blind people