The vision of a completely blind man in Brittany, France has been partially restored using light-sensing proteins first found in algae. The man was treated with a type of therapy called optogenetics, which uses the proteins to control cells at the back of his eye. He first knew it was working when he realized he could see the painted stripes of a pedestrian crossing. He can now grab and count objects on a table, Nature Medicine reports. He was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa—which leads to the death of light-sensing cells on the surface of the retina—40 years ago.

He was treated with optogenetics—a field new to medicine, but one that has long been a staple of fundamental neuroscience. It uses light to control precisely the activity of brain cells and was used by the scientists to restore the ability of one of his eyes to detect light.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/