A California-based group of biohackers may have just come up with a way of providing people with a way of seeing in the dark. The group, Science for the Masses, are reported to have recently administered specially designed eye drops in to the eyes of a man who was temporarily able to use night vision to see up to 50 metres, or 164 feet, in the dark.
The team of scientists used a chemical compound known as Chlorin e6 (Ce6) for the delicate experiment. The compound is one which is extracted from deep sea fish and sometimes used to help treat night blindness as well as in some cancer therapies. Chlorin e6 is a natural compound that can be created from algae and some other green plants.
There have been a few previous experiments involving Ce6 which have used animals however, the guys at Science for the Masses say that they have now used a human model; a biochemical researcher SfM, Gabriel Licina. The group’s medical officer, Jeffrey Tibbits, said that after scientists had been toying with the idea for decades, it was time to finally try it. “There are a fair amount of papers talking about having injected it in models like rats and it’s been used intravenously since the 60s as treatments for different cancers. After doing the research, you have to take the next step,” he said, according to The Independent.
The first step in what must have been a delicate procedure was to clean and flush out the subject’s eyes thoroughly before his eyelids were stretched out and held open with a speculum. Then it was time to administer the solution in to Licina’s eyeballs. The mixture of Ce6 mixed with saline, insulin, and dimethlysulfoxide was aimed at the conjunctival sac which the scientists hoped would help the compound reach the retinas. The dimethlysulfoxide was included to aid with absorption. They then placed protective lenses and sunglasses on Licina to help protect his eyes from any sensitivity.
So how did it feel to have such a procedure performed upon your fragile eyeballs? "To me, it was a quick, greenish-black blur across my vision, and then it dissolved into my eyes," Lucina told mic.com.
The team waited for about two hours before testing whether they had created a superhero who could see in the dark. As it turns out, the experiment worked – if only for a little while. Licina reported being able to first make out small shapes before being able to see moving objects and written symbols at a distance of around 10 metres, or about 33 feet.
The experiment then involved a control group of people asked to spot people standing in front of trees at a distance of 50 metres (164 feet). According to IFLScience, the control group was successful thirty percent of the time in comparison to Licina who was successful every single time.
Science for the Masses has released a detailed paper which outlines the research on the website. They say that the subject eyesight returned to normal the very next day and that the night vision was only temporary, lasting just a few hours.
The group says that they plan to continue study in to the area in the future. Their goals are to tackle issues that might not be pursued by corporations but could still be of benefit. They also aim to make their research accessible, or as the website puts it; “Science for the Masses is an independent team of research-minded individuals dedicated to making the tools and resources of science more available to the layperson”.
“For us, it comes down to pursuing things that are doable but won’t be pursued by major corporations,” said Tibbets, according to The Independent. “There are rules to be followed and don’t go crazy, but science isn’t a mystical language that only a few elite people can speak”.
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