Entertainment
Stem Cells Used To Cure Monkey's Vision, Humans Next?
By Matthew Swigonski
| Published
In a major step that could potentially lead to jaw-dropping recoveries in humans affected by conditions such as macular holes, researchers at the Kobe Eye Hospital in Japan have repaired a hole in a monkey’s retina utilizing human stem cells.
In the revolutionary study published in the medical journal, Stem Cell Reports, a team led by Dr. Michiko Mandai took a look at repairing a macular hole in the eye of a Japanese macaque. According to the study, following the placement of a patch comprised of human stem cells onto the macaque’s retina, the animal’s vision greatly improved over the course of its recovery.
A Cure For Macular Holes?
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a macular hole is described as a circular opening that forms in your macula, creating a vision that may be blurry, wavy, or even distorted. As the macular hole increases in size, a dark or blind spot appears in a person’s central vision, greatly impacting a person’s quality of life.
For Dr. Mandai and her team of researchers at the Kobe Eye Hospital, their years-long study focused on the development of small versions of retinas derived from human stem cells, aimed at creating a vision-restoring procedure.
In order to test the viability of the human-made retinal organoid sheets, Dr. Mandai and the research team came in contact with another lab that was studying how the eyes and brain process images. However, that secondary lab discovered that one of the macaques was not able to complete a series of vision-based tests that any of the other macaques were able to complete. After a closer inspection, it was determined that the macaque suffered from a macular hole, which greatly impacted its vision and made completing the visual tests too difficult.
Testing The Procedure On Macaques
Seeing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, the vision-impaired macaque was sent to Dr. Mandai’s laboratory. The research team then developed a retinal sheet derived from humans stem cells and attached the sheet to the macque’s retina, all with hopes of improving the animal’s eyesight. According to the research team’s study, not only was the transplant perfectly safe and relatively low-impact but the monkey’s performance on vision-based tests improved following its recovery.
Despite the success of the transplant of the human stem cells sheet and the restoration of the macque’s improved vision, the procedure still had a minor complication in the form of a “mild rejection” of the retinal organoid sheet. According to Mandai, the macaque’s immune system briefly attacked the transplanted sheet, but that was cleared up with a series of steroid injections that suppressed the immune system’s attack. According to Mandai, “Transplantation of human tissue to a human would have less risk of immune response,” leading to fewer complications she said.
An Alternative To Surgery
Normally, conditions such as macular holes or retinal degeneration are not only debilitating but also difficult to effectively treat, often leading to complications or even partial blindness. In some cases of macular holes, doctors treat a patient by performing a surgery called vitrectomy, where a surgeon removes the vitreous that is pulling on their macula. A gas bubble is then inserted into the eye to help flatten the macular hole and hold it in place while the eye heals.
Following the procedure, the gas bubble in the eye slowly goes away on its own as the patient heals and the hole begins to close, restoring a portion of the patients vision, though results are often dependent on the size of the hole. With the new human stem cell-based procedure, vision treatments may eventually offer less risks to human patients with an increased chance of restored vision.
Source: Stem Cell Reports
Entertainment
LA public schools pass screen time limits for students in a first
Los Angeles public school students may be returning to the age of college-ruled notebooks and Scantrons, following a Tuesday school board vote that will limit the use of computers, laptops, and tablets in classrooms.
Titled “Using Technology with Intention,” the new resolution mandates the creation of grade-level and subject-specific screen time limits across Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools, including a complete ban on device usage for kindergarten and first grade. The use of one-to-one devices, like individual Chromebooks, will be discouraged for second through fifth grades, as well.
Revised guidelines will also address video-aided lesson plans, access to video streaming platforms like YouTube, and expanded restrictions on gaming and social media platforms.
District staff must present the revised tech use policy by June, which will go into effect for all LAUSD students beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. Guidelines will be reevaluated every year, and schools are tasked with tracking and sharing student screen time numbers with parents.
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The resolution cites increasing concern about the effect of screen time on young minds and alleged screen addiction, including recent Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) studies that show a correlation between high screen time and adverse health effects. The board was unanimously in favor of the tech restrictions, with one recusal.
“We know that tech is not going away and can be a powerful tool in the classroom. This is not about going backwards. This is about rethinking school time and screen time in schools to ensure we are doing what actually helps students learn best,” board member Nick Melvoin said during Tuesday’s meeting.
“This is not about going backwards. This is about rethinking school time…”
Advocates, parents, and even students have spent the last year lobbying for greater tech restrictions following the passing of a 2025 bell-to-bell cellphone ban restricting the use of personal devices during school hours. Schools Beyond Screens, a national classroom tech safety coalition founded by LAUSD parents and teachers, helped craft the resolution in collaboration with board members and co-sponsors Melvoin, Karla Griego, Tanya Ortiz Franklin, Jerry Yang, Kelly Gonez, and Rocío Rivas.
“Now is the time for a safe and science-backed approach to classroom technology, one that is not guided by Big Tech talking points like screen value over screen time,” the organization wrote in a press release following the decision.
“There is much work to be done, and this is only the beginning, but today, we are proud, grateful, and – for the first time in a long time – hopeful. Our kids may yet have the kind of public education that they deserve — one that is proven effective and free of undue digital distraction, harmful content, and corporate exploitation.”
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Entertainment
The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is at the lowest price weve seen all year
SAVE $75: The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, down from the standard price of $299. That’s a 25% discount.
$224
at Amazon
$299
Save $75
Packing up for an adventure means figuring out how to bring along a soundtrack. A trip to the cabin or a lakeside campground all deserve to be experienced with a great playlist. If you could use an upgrade before summer to get a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, check out this deal at Amazon.
As of April 22, the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, marked down from the normal price of $299. That’s a 25% discount that takes $75 off the price. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen at Amazon so far this year.
A compact speaker with a scratch-resistant aluminum shell is exactly what we should be packing on adventures. With an attached carabiner, the B&O Explore speaker is designed to clip onto your backpack when you hit the trail. Or you can utilize the rubber base to set it on a rock or even in the sand. It’s both waterproof and dustproof, adding to the durability.
Bang & Olufsen notes this model gets up to 27 hours of playtime before it needs to recharge. It weighs under 1.5 pounds, so it won’t add much bulk to your gear. It takes about two hours to recharge the Beosound Explore.
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Before summer kicks into high gear, add the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore speaker to your pack. It’s ready for any adventure you have planned.
Entertainment
Get some new wrist candy with the CMF Watch Pro 2 at its lowest price ever
SAVE $39.01: As of April 22, get the CMF By Nothing Watch 2 Pro for $39.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $79. That’s a discount of 49% and the lowest price we’ve seen.
$39.99
at Amazon
$79
Save $39.01
There are tons of smartwatches on the market if you’re in need of one. But if you’re willing to look beyond the Apple Watches or Samsung devices out there, you’ll find an awesome alternative from the Nothing brand that’ll save you some serious cash. Not only is it more affordable than the competition, but it’s got everything you could want and then some. In fact, one of the models is on sale right now.
As of April 22, get the CMF By Nothing Watch 2 Pro for $39.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $79. That’s $39.01 off and a discount of 49%. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen.
This affordable smartwatch not only comes in an attractive form factor, but it has just about everything you could ask for. It has your average comms tools like Bluetooth calling and gesture control, a built-in mic and speaker, contacts, message reminders, and music control. But from there, it offers a wide range of sensors and data to help you take control of your health.
It offers a portable blood oxygen saturation monitor, a heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, and so much more. All of this data, including workout information, steps, and much more, can be synced across all your favorite fitness apps, including Apple Health and Google Health Connect. There are 120 sports modes to choose from, GPS positioning, and even a 3D warm-up exercise guide to help get you on your feet each day.
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With interchangeable watch straps and an attractive face, this extremely reasonable smartwatch is definitely one to rival Apple and Samsung. You’ll want to grab yours while it’s still down to the lowest price we’ve seen.
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