Telescopic Eye Implants Magnify Life, Help People See Again

Telescopic eye implants have just been approved by the FDA and they’re just as crazy as they sound. It’s literally like attaching a miniature telescope to an eye, magnifying what a person can see by 2.2-2.7 times.

These telescopic eye implants help people with macular degeneration, which is developing blind spots in the central vision of both eyes, see a little better. It’s intended for the elderly and can only be attached to one eye cause people still need the other for their peripheral vision.

But it’s not an easy-as-pie attach a telescope and just magically see again type of surgery, you’ll have to rehabilitate and basically re-wire your brain so it can combine what the two eyes see into one coherent image. Some patients even need a corneal transplant to accommodate for the size of the telescopic implant.

Of course, nothing can make old eyes young again but if surgery is successful, it can lessen impairment from severe to moderate. At $US15,000 it’s kind of expensive, but dude, it’s eyesight we’re talking about here.

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IPad and a Dolphin

Back in March, in the pages of The Onion, Beepo the Dolphin wondered whether the iPad and other tablet devices owned up to the hype. Now a May 23, 2010 press release from Jack Kassewitz at SpeakDolphin describes a non-fictional dolphin, Merlin, using — really using — the iPad.

“The use of the iPad is part of our continuing search to find a suitable touch screen technology which the dolphins can activate with the tip of their rostrums or beaks. After extensive searching and product review, it looks like our choice is between the Panasonic Toughbook and the Apple iPad,” Kassewitz explained. “We think that once the dolphins get the hang of the touch screen, we can let them choose from a wide assortment of symbols to represent objects, actions and even emotions.”

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Gordon Brown: Wiring a web for global good

TED Video: We're at a unique moment in history, says UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown: we can use today's interconnectedness to develop our shared global ethic -- and work together to confront the challenges of poverty, security, climate change and the economy

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown played a key role in shaping the G20 nations' response to the world's financial crisis and has been a powerful advocate for a coordinated global response to problems such as climate change, poverty and social justice.

Watch the video