'Mini lens' grown in lab could help tackle cataracts
Scientists have found a way to grow a realistic human lens, potentially providing a new path for the treatment of cataracts, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), working with colleagues at the University of Osaka in Japan and Cardiff University, have created tiny "mini lenses" in the lab using human stem cells for the very first time.
Scientists have successfully cultivated miniature human lenses in a lab using stem cells, offering a promising avenue for treating cataracts, a major cause of blindness. Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University, collaborating with teams from Japan and Cardiff, developed these "mini lenses" by reprogramming adult cells into stem cell-like states.
These tiny structures mimic the natural lens, including transparency-related proteins, capsule-like structures, and organized fiber cells. The breakthrough allows scientists to study lens development more effectively and potentially develop regenerative treatments for cataracts, which currently require surgery.
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