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Light-sensitive photoswitches could restore sight to those with macular degeneration

The major cause of blindness in this country is the death of photoreceptors -- rods and cones -- in the retina, a disease called macular degeneration. A possible new therapy involves inserting photoswitches into surviving retinal cells, giving them the gift of sight. NIH's nanomedicine initiative just awarded UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkekley National Laboratory scientists $6 million to pursue this technique in mice.

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Keywords: light-sensitive, photoswitches, restore, sight, macular, degeneration, light, sensitive, photoswitche

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