Mole eyesight could provide the answers to our own


Think of a creature whose eyesight could be tested in conjunction with our own to help cure various eye disorders…and you probably won’t come up with moles. The majority of people will associate moles as creatures that can barely see anything in front of them; which would in fact be the wrong conclusion to draw. Following a three-year study of Iberian and European moles, scientists appear to have stumbled across something quite astonishing; moles can see light even with their eyes shut!

Dr Collinson from the University of Aberdeen explains how it is that we got our perception of moles eyesight. The Iberian mole has skin covering its eyes which evidently led to the theory that they were in fact blind. Equally, it was thought that through the evolutionary process, creatures that lived in the dark constantly would lose the need for their eyes. Therefore, when scientists first began to look at moles eyesight, they expected to find a deteriorated retina and so on. However, instead they found that the moles have in fact got fully working and efficient retinas that are still entirely connected to their brains. Not only this, but that their retinas are in fact similar to that of ours, a daylight animal, with light receptive cells.   

So how does this help human research? Dr Collinson goes on to discuss how our incredibly wrong observation of moles until now shows that many other creatures in the animal kingdom could also have been vastly misinterpreted. Therefore, other animals could hold the key to a better understanding of human pathology. Perhaps more significantly, the study also reveals that the moles stem cells within the retina are activated and fully awake as opposed to the same stem cells within humans being inactivated. Therefore, further research into why this is the case could help find a cure to help diseases and injuries that damage the retina and provide human retinal repair.

11th December 2009  

<<<more eye health news


Laser Eye Surgery Enquiry Form

Complete this form if you would like information about laser eye surgery including costs & suitablity.