After establishing a procedure to restore vision in people whose cornea has been damaged by physical or chemical injury by harvesting limbal stem cells from the healthy eye and transplanting them to the eye that has been damaged, the Hyderabad-based LV Prasad Eye Institute has moved to the next stage. The Institute has successfully converted skin cells of mice into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) that behave like embryonic stem cells.

Dibyendu (Debu) Adhikari is excited about his holidays. He would return home from his hostel (Kolkata Blind School) after three months for his Puja vacation. Puja for this 10-year-old is synonymous with good food, a couple of new clothes, dhaks (traditional drums, used especially during auspicious occasions in Bengal), bells and conch sounds. For him, his elder brother is indispensable during these five days of festivity. “Mejda (his elder brother) takes me around each pandal and describes every detail — the lighting, décor, goddess etc,” he said.

A visually-impaired law student has finally won his battle against the Mumbai University after almost two years of perseverance. Amar Jain, a second year law student, refused to use a writer for his exams after a couple of bad experiences in the past. Well-versed in computers, Jain insisted on attempting his papers online in stead. However, the University rulebook did not permit any such liberty for a handicap student. After pursuing for almost two years, the controller of examination finally granted him the permission on Friday.

Five disabled persons of the city selected by the state government for their outstanding contribution in various fields would be awarded a special prize by the state governor on World Handicapped Day on December 2.

Informing this, district handicapped officer, KK Mishra said that Arun Kumar presently working in the office of general manager, Telecom is heading the list. This deaf and dumb person has won many awards in state level handicapped volleyball championship.

The winners of the much coveted N.C.P.E.D.P. Shell Helen Keller Awards for 2009 have been announced. This is the 11th edition of these awards instituted by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.), to honour individuals and organisations who have been working towards promoting equal opportunities and providing gainful employment for persons with disabilities. The Awards will be given on December 2 in New Delhi.

The first flexible retinal implant could restore some vision to people with certain forms of visual impairment.

Conditions such as age-related macular degeneration occur when some of the photoreceptors in the eye stop functioning properly. But as other parts of the eye still work, it should be possible to restore vision using an implant that mimics the photoreceptor layer, says Rostam Dinyari at Stanford University in California.

To achieve this, an implant needs to convert a light signal into an electrical pulse – in other words, perform like a solar cell.

Non-availability of sufficient material is one of the causes for its decline

Modern technology has changed lifestyles; the invasion of new electronic gadgets has now questioned even the relevance of Braille for the blind in the present world.

On the occasion of 201st birth anniversary of Louis Braille, inventor of Braille language, Deccan Herald spoke to few individuals, who work for the blind and asked them about the importance of Braille in a blind person's life.

On January 4, Bangalore will celebrate the birthday of Louis Braille, the creator of the script for the blind with the rest of the world. Doordarshan Kendra will be observing this day in a unique way, Kannada News will be presented by visually challenged persons trained in Braille script.

Braille Script consists of six dots that are raised.

These six bumps are in different patterns, like constellations, spreading out over the page. They consist of numbers, letters, words.

Ministry of Communication and Information Technology would take a decision shortly with regard to the extra premium paid by the disabled employees

The Central Government Wednesday informed the Delhi High Court that equal benefits for postal life insurance will be provided to the differently-abled government employees with a maximum limit of Rs 5,00,000.