Patent Allowance for Wayne State University Vision Restoration Research

Today, years of work on vision restoration therapy by researchers at Wayne State University and Salus University has been rewarded. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for patent application No. 12/299,574. A Notice of Allowance is issued to the applicant when the patent office finally approves an application. Once the Notice has been issued, the applicant has three months to pay an "issue fee," after which the patent will be issued.

The team, headed by  Dr. Zhuo-Hua Pan, Ph.D., has developed therapies that may offer relief to patients suffering from blindness caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which have so far been incurable. AMD causes the macula, the light-sensitive tissue in the retina which allows you to see fine details, to break down. RP also affects the retina and causes such symptoms as tunnel vision and night blindness. Dr. Pan's therapy delivers a green algae photoreceptor gene, channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) to the retina. The gene causes inner retinal neurons to become light sensitive, which restored light responses in the visual cortex of the brain. The team has targeted late 2013 to early 2014 for clinical trials. 

The patent will cover methods of vision restoration using the molecules ChR2 and Halorhodopsin and targeting the molecules with cell specific promoters.

**Dr. Pan is the professor of Ophthalmology and Anatomy/Cell Biology for the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and scientific director of the Ligon Research Center of Vision at the Kresge Eye Institute**

Visit http://www.retro-sense.com/development.html for updates on development.

Technology Announcements

Today, news was released regarding technology and future releases Google, Sony, and Microsoft are developing.  All three have next generation products they are preparing for release. Sony and Microsoft, leaders in the video game industry, released information about their next generation consoles and accessories, while Google gives more information on its "Glass" project.

At Sony's 2013 Playstation Meeting, they announced Playstation 4 and its capabilities, such as streaming games to "try before you buy," handing control of your game over to a remote friend, and gaming graphics that rival that of Hollywood CG movies. Sony also unveiled the new Dualshock 4 controller with a touchpad, headphone jack, and a button that allows you to share content with your friends.

Microsoft is working on the Kinect 2.0, the successor to the Kinect, as well as its next-gen console, dubbed "Durango." The specs for the Kinect 2.0 were allegedly leaked today. The new Kinect touts improved graphics, higher depth stream, larger field of vision, and improved latency.

Last year, Google released a video tease about a project called "Glass." Glass is a foray into augmented reality, offering a heads-up display overlaid onto your vision. Today, Glass released another video demonstrating more of what Glass could be used to do. They unveiled voice commands and real-world footage. Google also announced they are looking for people to test Glass and aid in its development.

This is just a taste of what is in store for technology in the near-future. Imagine what more will be accomplished this year.

DMCA Revisions

Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in 1998 to restrict the circumvention of technological restrictions on digital media. The DMCA includes exemptions to the prohibitions. These exemptions are put in place when it is shown that the restricting technology makes it difficult for people to use copyrighted works without infringing on the DMCA regulations. Every three years, the Librarian of Congress revises these exemptions to keep up with technological advances. The most recent revisions in October 2012 mark the first time that the exemptions have grown tighter rather than broader.

In 2010, an exemption for "jailbreaking" phones was approved. "Jailbreaking" allows people to install non-approved apps on devices. This past year, several entities proposed extensions allowing consumers to jailbreak tablets and video gaming consoles, but the Librarian of Congress refused this extension. Another denied proposal regarded the ability to copy digital content from one device to another.

It is now a criminal offense to "unlock" any smartphone purchased after January 26, 2013, punishable by up to $500,000 fine or 5 years in prison for first time offenders. "Unlocking" refers to the act of breaking a phone's connection with a specific provider in order to use it with another.

Although the Librarian denied several proposals, several new rules were adopted allowing the copying and decrypting electronic media for criticism, commentary, documentaries, and educational purposes.