Twelve months after receiving an experimental gene therapy for a rare, inherited form of blindness, a patient discovered that she could read an illuminated clock in the family car for the first time in her life. The unexpected findings suggest that the brain can adapt to new sensory capacity, even in people who have been blind since birth.
Scientists believe they have tracked down the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans on the planet today. “Originally, we all had brown eyes”, said Prof Hans Eiberg from the University of Copenhagen, who led the team.