REAL LIFE NEWS: NIGHT VISION EYEDROPS
by Hazed
Fed up with wearing bulky night vision goggles when you want to see in the dark? You can throw them away thanks to a new innovation: night vision eyedrops, which will let you see up to 50 metres in darkness.
Scientists in California have created a natural molecule from algae that enhances eyesight in dark environments. The molecule is found in some deep sea fish, and has previously been used to help people with night blindness.
In the past, tests have been conducted on rats, and now it has been trialled on a willing human: biochecmical researcher Gabriel Licinia, who had his eyes moistened with 50 microlitres of the substance. It started to take effect almost immediately, and after an hour he could distinguish shapes from 10 metres away in the dark. A little while later it worked at longer distances.
“We had people go stand in the woods,” Licina said, “At 50 metres, I could figure who they were, even if they were standing up against a tree.” His success at picking out objects in the dark was 100%, compared to a control group which could only do it a third of the time.
The chemical’s effects only lasted for a few hours. The next day his eyesight was normal again.
This sounds amazing: almost like gaining superpowers. I look forward to reading about how it gets developed in years to come.
