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Scientists give mice night vision

Night Vision - Level 0

We could see in the dark some day. Researchers from China and the USA tested mice. Their tests let the mice see in the dark. The mice could see in the dark for about 10 weeks. The scientists said the tests did not damage the mice's eyes. The mice did not have any side effects.

Researchers want to do tests on humans. We have tried to develop new technology to give us extra abilities. This new technology could let someone see in the dark without needing night-vision goggles. We would not need to wear heavy technology. A researcher said the military might like this technology.

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Night Vision - Level 1

It might be possible to see in the dark one day. Scientists gave mice the ability to see in the dark. Researchers from universities in China and the USA changed the vision in mice. They put special chemicals into their eyes. These let the mice see in the dark. The chemicals let the mice see in the dark for about 10 weeks. The scientists said the chemicals did not damage the mice's eyes. The mice did not suffer any side effects.

The research is in the journal 'Cell'. Researchers want to do tests on humans. Dr Tian Xue said: "Human beings have been trying to develop new technology to enable abilities that are beyond our natural abilities." He added: "Another cool thing about this potential technology is that it wouldn't require a person to wear heavy and energy-intensive equipment, such as night-vision goggles." He said the military might like his research.

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Night Vision - Level 2

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Do you want to see in the dark? This might be possible. Scientists gave mice the ability to see near-infrared light. This is a kind of light that mice cannot usually see. Researchers from universities in China and the USA changed the vision of the mice they tested. They injected special nanoparticles into their eyes. These nanoparticles let the mice see better in the dark. The injections meant the mice could see in the dark for about 10 weeks. The scientists said the injections did not damage the eyesight of the mice. The eyes of the mice did not suffer from any side effects.

The research is published in the journal 'Cell'. The researchers hope their tests could be done on humans. Researcher Dr Tian Xue said: "Human beings have been trying to develop new technology to enable abilities that are beyond our natural abilities." He said tests in the future could let humans see in the dark. Dr Tian added: "Another cool thing about this potential technology is that it wouldn't require a person to wear heavy and energy-intensive equipment, such as night-vision goggles." He also said the military might be interested in his research.

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Night Vision - Level 3

Would you like to be able to see in the dark? One day this might be possible. Scientists have done tests on mice and have given them the ability to see near-infrared light. This is a kind of light wave that mice (and humans) cannot normally see. Research teams from the University of Science and Technology of China and the University of Massachusetts Medical School changed the vision of the test mice. They injected special nanoparticles into their eyes. These tiny particles let the mice see better in the dark. The effect of the injections lasted for around 10 weeks. The scientists said the eyesight of the mice was not damaged and the eyes did not suffer from any side effects.

The research is now published in the research journal 'Cell'. The researchers say they hope the same tests could be done with humans. Researcher Dr Tian Xue explained what he hopes for the future. He said: "Human beings have been trying to develop new technology to enable abilities that are beyond our natural abilities." He said future tests could let humans see things in the dark that they cannot see now. Dr Tian added: "Another cool thing about this potential technology is that it wouldn't require a person to wear heavy and energy-intensive equipment, such as night-vision goggles." He also said: "The military will very likely be interested in this work."

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