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Researchers Inject Nanoparticles To Provide Superhuman Night Vision In Mice

Researchers Inject Nanoparticles To Provide Superhuman Night Vision In Mice

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have developed a new technique to augment mammals with night vision. The technique involves injecting nanoantenna on the retina of mice which enables them to see light towards the infrared spectrum.

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Mammals are able to detect visible light which lies in the wavelength range of 400nm to 700nm on the electromagnetic radiation spectrum. Near-Infrared Radiation or NIR lies in the range of 700nm to 1.4μm which has a higher wavelength than visible light. We use thermal imaging equipment to detect the heat radiation from bodies which lie in the NIR region.

According to the research published in the journal Cell, the team considered injecting upconversion nanomaterials (UCNPs) in the eyes of the mice. The nanoparticles contain erbium and ytterbium which have the property of being able to convert low-energy radiation of NIR to high-energy green light that can be detected by mammals. The UCNPs were attached with a protein that is able to bind with the sugar molecule on the photoreceptor surface of the retina.

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To test whether the process was able to provide the mouse with ‘infrared vision’, the researchers conducted psychological and behavioural tests. The mice were trained to swim towards visible light in a Y-shaped tank, after which they replaced the visible light with infrared light. Mice which were injected with UCNPs swam towards the infrared light, while the control mice with no alterations did not.

Gang Han, associate professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology said, “This concept-provoking study should pave the way to numerous critical applications via the unique creation of mammalian NIR visual ability and have high translational potential.” The team believes that this augmentation in humans can open the part of the Universe that is invisible to the naked eye.

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