After losing eyesight 40 years ago, a blind man has had his vision partially restored using optogenetic therapy and engineered goggles, according to CNN. The French man suffers from retinitis pigmentosa — an eye disease that changes how the retina responds to light. People with the disease lose their vision gradually over time.
Technically, this gene therapy is based on algae proteins that respond to light sources, with researchers reprogramming cells in the retina by injecting genes to make it light sensitive. Several months later, they equipped the patient with engineered goggles that detected changes in light intensity, and he was able to see objects to a degree when wearing the googles.
“This is a significant milestone and undoubtedly further refinements will make optogenetic therapy a viable option for many patients in future,” said Robert MacLaren, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Oxford. The breakthrough study, titled “Partial recovery of visual function in a blind patient after optogenetic therapy,” was published in Nature Medicine journal earlier this year.
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Liberty Times 照片︰自由時報潘少棠
(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)
據CNN報導，在失明長達四十年後，一名視障男子藉由「光遺傳學」技術及特製墨鏡，成功修復了部分視力。這名法國男子為「色素性視網膜炎」患者——這種眼疾會改變視網膜對光線的反應，該疾病患者將隨著時間逐漸喪失視力。
從技術上來說，這項「基因療法」是以一種取自感光藻類的蛋白質為基礎。研究人員將蛋白質基因注射至視網膜，藉以改編細胞基因使細胞具有感光性。而幾個月之後，他們讓患者戴上可偵測光線強度的輔助墨鏡，藉由這副墨鏡，患者在某種程度上竟可隱約看到物體。
「這是一項重大里程碑！」牛津大學的眼科教授羅柏麥克拉倫說，「若再經過進一步改良，無疑將使光遺傳學療法成為更多患者未來可行的選項。」這篇突破性研究名為《視障患者藉由光遺傳學療法恢復部分視覺功能》，今年稍早發表於《自然醫學》期刊。
（台北時報張聖恩〉
Tourists will benefit as yen falls 日本6月將開放觀光！日圓「貶值」學換匯英文 自疫情爆發至今已超過兩年，全球逐漸邁向與疫情共存的方式，日本政府也將陸續鬆綁邊境管制，最快有機會六月就開放外國觀光客以團體旅遊方式入境。加上日圓近期狂貶，來到二十年來新低點，專家預估，日本將迎來新一波的旅遊熱潮。今天我們就從國外報導的日圓貶值現象，提前為旅日做好準備吧！ yen weakness 日圓疲軟 Yet economists see building pressure for a shift if persistent yen weakness exacerbates inflation by raising import costs, particularly for energy, and reckon that 125 is a key level. （然而，若是日圓持續疲軟而提高進口成本，尤其在能源上，將加重通貨膨脹，經濟學家認為政策轉變的壓力很大，並預估貶破125是關鍵點。） yen weakness是「日圓疲軟，weak (a.)意思是「虛弱的、疲弱的，加上「-ness」名詞字尾，代表「疲軟的概念；加上「-en」動詞變化則有「弱化、削弱」的意思。 The bill would seriously weaken environmental protections. （這項法案將嚴重削弱對環境的保護。） exacerbate (v.)「惡化、加劇、加重，英文的定義為to make something that is already bad even worse（使某件已經很糟的事情更糟）。文章中提到通膨（inflation）加劇，將會對經濟造成負面的影響，因此可以看出作者的態度是不樂觀的。 This attack will exacerbate the already tense relations between the two communities.（這次襲擊將令兩個原本已經處於緊張狀態的團體關係更加惡化。） 提高成本raise、rise怎麼用？ raise import cost是「提高進口成本，討論數據「上升、下降時，經常使用raise和rise這兩個動詞，但是特別注意兩者使用方式有所不同。raise是及物動詞(vt)，後方必須要接一個受詞（名詞），如raise your hand、raise the eyebrows；然而，rise是不及物動詞(vi)，不能直接加上受詞，而是要在中間穿插一個介系詞作為連結功能的用途，如常見的go (to) school、listen (to) music等，因此rise的用法就是inflation rises，常見的the sun rises in the east就是如此。 The government plans to raise taxes. （政府計畫增稅。） Inflation is rising by 2.1 percent a month. （通貨膨脹一個月增長百分之二‧一。） 升值、貶值怎麼說？ Japanese yen depreciation is a big problem for the Japanese economy, because
After causing a stir with his first appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 years for his new film Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise made another stunning appearance at the film’s London premiere in Leicester Square on the evening of May 19. Having been given the honor of walking the red carpet with Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge, Cruise, being the perfect gentleman, extended his hand to the Duchess as she navigated a set of stairs. The sweet moment was spotted by onlookers and greeted with a barrage of camera flashes from the assembled media, while
The Grammys: Music Lovers’ Festival 葛萊美獎：音樂人的盛典 There are few awards ceremonies that get more attention than the Grammys. This annual ceremony, first held more than six decades ago, recognizes outstanding achievements in the music industry. The trophy that is presented to winners is in the shape of an old-fashioned record player called a gramophone. The idea for the Grammys first came about in the 1950s. People in the recording industry were concerned that musicians, singers and songwriters were not getting the same recognition as people working in film and television. The movie industry, for example, had been awarding Oscars since 1929, and the television industry handed out
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