Three decades have passed since gene therapy pioneer William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Florida began work on a virus that could safely deliver corrective genes into living animals.

An international research team has discovered a gene that, when mutated, causes one of the most common forms of inherited blindness in babies. Scientists at the University of Leeds, working in collaboration with experts from other centres around the world, identified the gene, which is essential to photoreceptors in the eye, the cells that "see" light.

The first clinical trial to test a revolutionary treatment for blindness in children has been announced by researchers at UCL (University College London). The trial, funded by the Department of Health, is the first of its kind and could have a significant impact on future treatments for eye disease.