Latest news with #pax6
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Snail's ability to regrow eyes raises hope for blind humans
A snail's ability to regrow its eyes after they have been cut off could one day see humans create a cure for some forms of blindness. The apple snail has the unique ability to regenerate its eyes, which are a complex organ like those of people. Scientists studying the regrowth process discovered the gene likely responsible for the optical revival in the mollusc is called pax6 and is also found in humans. 'Our studies reveal that, akin to humans, pax6 is indispensable for eye development in apple snails, establishing this as a research organism to unravel the mechanisms of camera-type eye regeneration,' the scientists write in their study. 'This work expands our understanding of complex sensory organ regeneration and offers a way to explore this process.' The scientists hope to study the gene in further detail to see if it could offer routes to future therapies to treat humans with sight issues. Snails have been known to regrow their heads since the 18th century but the latest work is the first to fully identify the eye-specific regeneration of the animal. The apple snail is the only animal with a camera-type eyeball, similar to humans, that is known to regenerate. This type of eye has a cornea, a lens and a retina and is found in all vertebrates as well as spiders, squid and some snails. 'We did a lot of work to show that many genes that participate in human eye development are also present in the snail,' said study author Dr Alice Accorsi, an assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Davis. 'After regeneration, the morphology and gene expression of the new eye is pretty much identical to the original one.' The study found that the snails regrew the eye components in 15 days and then these matured for several more weeks, but Dr Accorsi said there was no conclusive evidence the snails could actually see through the new eye. Future work will try and confirm if they can. The pax6 gene was found to be key in how eyes develop, and a follow up will see if it is also instrumental in regeneration. 'If we find a set of genes that are important for eye regeneration, and these genes are also present in vertebrates, in theory we could activate them to enable eye regeneration in humans,' Dr Accorsi said. The study is published in Nature Communications. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Solve the daily Crossword
Telegraph
07-08-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
Snail's ability to regrow eyes raises hope for blind humans
A snail's ability to regrow its eyes after they have been cut off could one day see humans create a cure for some forms of blindness. The apple snail has the unique ability to regenerate its eyes, which are a complex organ like those of people. Scientists studying the regrowth process discovered the gene likely responsible for the optical revival in the mollusc is called pax6 and is also found in humans. 'Our studies reveal that, akin to humans, pax6 is indispensable for eye development in apple snails, establishing this as a research organism to unravel the mechanisms of camera-type eye regeneration,' the scientists write in their study. 'This work expands our understanding of complex sensory organ regeneration and offers a way to explore this process.' The scientists hope to study this gene in further detail to see if the gene could offer routes to future therapies in people to treat humans with eye injuries causing sight issues in the future. Snails have been known to regrow their heads since the 18th century but the latest work is the first to fully identify the eye-specific regeneration of the animal. The apple snail is the only animal with a camera-type eyeball that is known to be able to regenerate the sight organ. This type of eye has a cornea, a lens and a retina and are found in all vertebrates as well as spiders, squid and some snails. 'We did a lot of work to show that many genes that participate in human eye development are also present in the snail,' said study author Dr Alice Accorsi, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Davis. 'After regeneration, the morphology and gene expression of the new eye is pretty much identical to the original one.' The study found that the snails regrew the eye components in 15 days and then these matured for several more weeks, but Dr Accorsi said there is no conclusive evidence the snails can actually see through the new eye. Future work will try and confirm if they can. The study found the pax6 gene to be key in how eyes develop, and a follow up will see if it is also instrumental in regeneration. 'If we find a set of genes that are important for eye regeneration, and these genes are also present in vertebrates, in theory we could activate them to enable eye regeneration in humans,' Dr Accorsi said.
