News, Links and Commentary
Friday, November 10, 2006
A Mango in the Dark
Jacqueline McGrath is a freelance journalist who has retinitis pigmentosa. McGrath reviewed the Parisian restaurant Dans Le Noir?' - yet another place where diners can eat in total darkness. I sometimes find it difficult to manage a knife and fork in the dark, but I can't imagine making this mistake:
'Dining in the dark: Traveler's Check: Dans Le Noir?' (Kansas City Star, 5 November 2006).
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?That is watermelon, isn?t it?? I asked the young man. ?Absolutely,? he replied. (A glance at the bar?s chalkboard menu on my way out told me it was mango.) The meat on our plate was equally enigmatic. I sniffed the morsel on my fork ?Chicken?? I asked. ?Most likely duck,? the young man volunteered. (The chalkboard menu convinced me it was guinea hen.)
'Dining in the dark: Traveler's Check: Dans Le Noir?' (Kansas City Star, 5 November 2006).
Retinal Transplants in Mice
Researchers from Moorfields Eye Hospital in London and the University of Michigan Medical School have successfully transplanted retinal cells in mice with genetic forms of retinal degeneration. The researchers hope that this could lead to a treatment for retinal degeneration in humans within the next decade. Instead of using stem cells, the researchers are investigating the use of cells taken from the retina and that can be grown and then transplanted.
'Blind mice see again after transplant' (Reuters at ABC Online, 9 November 2006.
The research is published, in letters to the editor, in the November 9 2006 issue of Nature
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Scientists have recently found cells on the margin of the retina in humans that have stem-cell like properties and could potentially be grown in the lab to become photoreceptor precursor cells for treatment.
"Rather than focusing on stem cells we believed that if we could understand how cells develop and become photoreceptors ... our transplantation efforts would meet with greater success," says Professor Anand Swaroop, of the University of Michigan Medical School and a co-author of the study.
'Blind mice see again after transplant' (Reuters at ABC Online, 9 November 2006.
The research is published, in letters to the editor, in the November 9 2006 issue of Nature
