Blind mice had their vision restored with a device that helped diseased retinas send signals to the brain, according to a study that may lead to new prosthetic technology for millions of sight-impaired people.

Current devices are limited in the aid they provide to people with degenerative diseases of the retina, the part of the eye that converts light into electrical impulses to the brain. In research described today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists cracked the code the retina uses to communicate with the brain.

The technology moves prosthetics beyond bright light and high-contrast recognition and may be adopted for human use within a year or two, said Sheila Nirenberg, a neuroscientist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and the study’s lead author.

“What this shows is that we have the essential ingredients to make a very effective prosthetic,” Nirenberg said. Researchers haven’t yet tested the approach on humans, though have assembled the code for monkeys, she said.

Personally I think everyone should spend a few days to a week blind. It's a humbling and perspective broadening experience.

Oh sure. I would certainly be willing to do that. But it has to be honest to god blindness (otherwise, you know, peeking), but it also has to be reversible.

But actually losing my sight? I'd go mad.

Used to know a blind kid in Boy Scouts. One week he did a Q&A session, ask anything you'd like.

"How do you pee? Isn't that a fairly visual action?"

Why yes. Yes it is.

I've always assumed that a blind male would sit on a toilet rather than pee standing up. Seems safer and easier on the shoes.