Abstract
“Induced” Eyes Suggest a Path to Retinal Repair
Highlights
Anti-evolutionists have long cited the eye as evidence against evolution
If the same techniques translate to human cells, they may provide a strategy for restoring vision to patients with retinal damage or hereditary eye diseases
Stimulating stem cells to develop into a particular cell type is challenging enough, but inducing them to develop into functioning tissues requires an understanding of the mechanisms that determine the fate of multiple cell types
Summary
Anti-evolutionists have long cited the eye as evidence against evolution. The organ is so intricate and complex, they argue, that it could not exist but for the careful guidance of a grand designer. In this issue of PLoS Biology, Michael Zuber and colleagues elegantly demonstrate that by turning on just seven genes in frog pluripotent stem cells, tadpoles that would otherwise be blind can develop functional eyes from the transplanted cells. Regenerative medicine aims to replace damaged tissue with new, functioning cells derived from embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to develop into any adult cell type.
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