Lab grown 'mini eyes' shed light on blindness caused by rare condition

Researchers are one step closer to curing a disease that affects a child’s hearing and vision

Cochlear implants can help with hearing loss but no treatments for vision loss (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Scientists have grown “mini eyes” for the first time, enabling them to study a rare genetic disease that affects hearing and vision.

Researchers from University College London made the 3D mini eyes, called organoids, to better understand a rare genetic disease called Usher syndrome.

Patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital donated skin samples, which were then used by scientists to generate stem cells and develop the mini eyes.