Earth & Sky

Nano 'knitting' restores vision in test animals

Nano-neuro-knitting has been successfully tested restoring sight to blinded hamsters. Photo: David Marshall .

A stroke or brain injury severs nerves and creates gaps in brain tissue that can mean loss of sight, hearing, muscle control, and other crucial bodily functions.

Neuroscientist Rutledge Ellis-Behnke and colleagues have discovered a way to use microscopic nano-fiber to help nerves grow back across gaps in brain tissue and reconnect areas of the brain.

This special nano-fiber is made up of a short string of proteins. It can self-assemble – that is, it can build itself — under special conditions. Ellis-Behnke and his team have been using this technique to restore sight in hamsters. The researchers severed the optical nerve tract in hamsters’ brains, causing them to go blind. To help the nerve re-grow, it was coated with a liquid containing microscopic particles that self-assembled into a lattice of nano-fibers.

The interwoven nano-fibers gave the hamsters’ severed optic nerve a foundation on which to regenerate and reconnect. Vision was restored in almost all of the animals they tested. Ellis-Behnke called the healing process “nano-neuro-knitting.”

Rutledge Ellis-Behnke: It almost looks like it’s re-knitted itself back together, almost like you would darn socks or fix a sweater.

He’s hopeful that this technique could one day be used to help restore quality of life for the millions of victims of stroke and traumatic brain injuries.

Thanks today to the National Science Foundation.

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5 Comments for Nano 'knitting' restores vision in test animals

1. 1

   May 4, 04:57 PM #

   G.McIntyre says:

   It is very interesting that nobody has commented on this article.
   The use of animals for medical research has often been very controversial.
   What a truly wonderful thing that there is hope, that the sight of a blind person can be restored.

2. 2

   Jun 18, 01:17 PM #

   sglasson says:

   This is a very great finding indeed. I wonder if it could possibly help someone who was born blind.

3. 3

   Jun 18, 04:04 PM #

   Judith Newman says:

   Hope for Trigeminal Neuralgia at last!

4. 4

   Jun 21, 04:05 PM #

   Andy Kovac says:

   What a wonderful age to be alive. When I was a little boy, we still had ice boxes to keep our food cool. Who could have possible imagined the advances that science has made in the five decades that I’ve been on this wonderful planet. It is so good to read these news items and realize the good side of humanity.

5. Jun 21, 05:43 PM #

   Deborah Byrd says:

   I agree Andy. Despite the challenges, there are many exciting new things on the horizon for the Earth and its humans …