Scientists create super-mice that can see in the dark
Baku, March 4, AZERTAC
No one is ditching the night-vision goggles just yet, but scientists working in the United States and China have developed a technique that they say could one day give humans the ability to see in the dark.
The technique involves injecting the eyes with particles that act like tiny antennae that take infrared light — wavelengths that are invisible to humans and other mammals — and convert it to visible wavelengths. Mammals can see wavelengths in just a sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the new technique is designed to widen that sliver.
The nanoparticle injections haven't been tried on humans, but experiments on mice show that they confer the ability to see infrared light without interfering with the perception of light in the visible range. Control animals showed no preference — because both boxes appeared dark to them — while treated mice showed a distinct preference for the dark box. Other scientists praised the research while expressing doubts about trying the technique in humans. Harvard neuroscientist Michael Do said in an email that the experiments were "sophisticated" and that the technique was likely to work in humans as well as in mice. But he said it was unclear just how sharp the infrared vision would be in humans, and he cautioned that the injections might damage delicate structures in the eye.
Glen Jeffery, a neuroscientist at the University College London, expressed similar praise for the research — but even graver doubts. "Injecting any material under the retina is risky and should never be done unless there is a clear and justifiable clinical reason..." he said in an email. "I have no idea how you could use this technology to human advantage and would never support its application on healthy humans." But the researchers are moving ahead. Han said the team planned to test the technique in bigger animals — possibly dogs.
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