Photoreceptor cell cell depends upon only the number of photons absorbed. The different responses of the three types of cone cells are determined by the likelihoods that their respective photoreceptor proteins will absorb photons of different wavelengths. So, for example, an L cone cell contains a photoreceptor protein that more readily absorbs long wavelengths of light (i.e., more "red"). Light of a shorter wavelength can also produce the same response, but it must be much brighter to do so. The human retina contains about 120 million rod cells, and 6 million cone cells. The number and ratio of rods to cones varies
Retina populations in the eye. AAV encoding neurotrophic factors such as fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family members and GDNF either protected photoreceptors from apoptosis or slowed down cell death. Organ transplantation Transplantation of retinas has been attempted, but without much success. At MIT, The University of Southern California, RWTH Aachen University, and the University of New South Wales, an "artificial retina" is under development: an implant which will bypass the photoreceptors of the retina and stimulate the attached nerve cells directly, with signals from a digital camera. In 1894, Santiago Ramón y Cajal published the first major characterization of retinal neurons