How A Textile Factory Empowers Its All-Blind Work Crew
The average sighted person can’t fathom how difficult it is to be blind. How tough it is to get around, meet people, or find work. Among this population, the unemployment rate is a startling 70 percent. That’s a striking number and some indicator of how much vision affects our lives. The Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind is […]
THE ETHICAL FUTURE OF BIONIC VISION
Article by Max Slattery, University of Melbourne As researchers refine the capabilities of bionic eyes, restoring sight to some blind people may be just around the corner. But what are the ethical implications of ‘artificial’ sight? Curing blindness – at least in some of its many guises – with a prosthetic retina, also known as a […]
Who’s Paying for Assistive Technology?
When Lee Huffman wants to use his personal computer, he launches a special application that magnifies the screen, allows him to change background colors in case his eyes get tired of the bright hues, and reads whatever text is on display. This tool helps him get information online, work on his projects and carry with […]
The Blind Captain’ Aims to Kayak Solo Across the Bosphorus With the Help of New Technology
This story by Laura Klivans originally appeared on PRI.org on November 7, 2017. It is republished here as part of a partnership between PRI and Global Voices. Ahmet Ustunel remembers his daily commute to high school well. He’d wake up at home, on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, a city that straddles two continents. Then he would take a […]
Teens create Rubik’s Cube for the blind
Carson Mowrer and Sasha Thomas have been friends as long as they can remember. They share a love of science, technology, music and Rubik’s cubes. This passion for the cube has led them to study and learn the algorithms necessary to solve the puzzle. They have produced online tutorials on how to complete the task and […]
New Drug Delivery Device Treats Glaucoma from Within the Eye
A new drug delivery system could be a crucial development in the fight against glaucoma. The disease currently affects more than 60 million people around the world, making it the second-leading cause of blindness, behind cataracts. That number is expected to increase to 76 million by 2020 and even further to nearly 112 million by […]
Trigger for most common form of vision loss discovered
In a major step forward in the battle against macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss among the elderly, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered a critical trigger for the damaging inflammation that ultimately robs millions of their sight. The finding may allow doctors to halt the inflammation early […]
Airbnb to offer more accessible rentals
Airbnb, the short-term rental company, knows it needs to do better when it comes to accessibility. The company announced on Thursday it is acquiring Accomable to help connect disabled travelers with more accessible-friendly rentals. The London-based startup is known as an Airbnb-like service for the mobility sector. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Airbnb’s […]
After cooking, biofortified corn and eggs retain nutrient needed to prevent blindness
Fortified and biofortified foods are at the forefront of efforts to combat vitamin A deficiency worldwide. But little is known about what influence processing may have on the retention of vitamin A precursors in these foods. Now in a study appearing in ACS Omega, scientists report that a high percentage of these healthful substances—in some […]
$1 million price tag in spotlight as gene therapy becomes reality
Spark Therapeutics (ONCE.O), whose Luxturna treatment has been recommended for U.S. approval, told investors last week there was a case for valuing it at more than $1 million per patient, although it has yet to set an actual price. However, the U.S. Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) said this week “at a placeholder […]
