--- title: New Technique Creates Corneas in Mice Using Adult Human Stem Cells description: Scientists might have discovered a cure for blindness with a new technique that creates corneas in mice using adult human stem cells canonical: https://time.com/2952812/new-technique-creates-corneas-in-mice-using-adult-human-stem-cells/ author: Melissa Hellmann article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-03T07:54:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:57:33.006Z article:section: Science og:title: New Technique Creates Corneas in Mice Using Adult Human Stem Cells og:description: Scientists might have discovered a cure for blindness with a new technique that creates corneas in mice using adult human stem cells og:url: https://time.com/2952812/new-technique-creates-corneas-in-mice-using-adult-human-stem-cells/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04f3676fac45400e/69869a67cd804d706accbc9f/151064121.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3630 og:image:height: 2042 og:image:alt: Injured Cornea og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New Technique Creates Corneas in Mice Using Adult Human Stem Cells twitter:description: Scientists might have discovered a cure for blindness with a new technique that creates corneas in mice using adult human stem cells twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04f3676fac45400e/69869a67cd804d706accbc9f/151064121.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # New Technique Creates Corneas in Mice Using Adult Human Stem Cells > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Jul 3, 2014 7:54 AM UTC  Wounded Cornea Wounded CorneaGetty Images by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Jul 3, 2014 7:54 AM UTC Scientists may have [discovered](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28106253) a way to regrow human corneas by implanting stem cells into mice, providing hope to those with degenerative eye diseases and victims of chemical or thermal burns. The degradation of limbal stem cells — cells that help repair corneal tissue — is the most common cause of blindness. According to the [study](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13426.html) released in the journal _Nature_, researchers used antibodies to target a molecule called ABCB5, which had never been found on limbal stem cells until now. Scientists used the tracing molecule to detect the elusive limbal stem cells deep inside the limbus, which is an area between the white portion of the eye and the cornea. Researchers then successfully transplanted the limbal stem cells from deceased donors into mice to create fully formed human corneas. “The mouse model allowed us for the first time to understand the role of ABCB5 in normal development, and should be very important to the stem cell field in general,” [said](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140702131744.htm) Dr. Natasha Frank, of the VA Boston Healthcare System and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Although the study has rather broad implications, co-lead author Dr. Bruce Ksander, of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, [admitted](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140702131744.htm) that it didn’t guarantee sight for all blind patients. “Limbal stem cells are very rare, and successful transplants are dependent on these rare cells,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2952812/new-technique-creates-corneas-in-mice-using-adult-human-stem-cells/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2952812/new-technique-creates-corneas-in-mice-using-adult-human-stem-cells/"},"headline":"New Technique Creates Corneas in Mice Using Adult Human Stem Cells","datePublished":"2014-07-03T07:54:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:57:33.006Z","description":"The discovery is one of the first known examples of tissues being created from adult human stem cells","url":"https://time.com/2952812/new-technique-creates-corneas-in-mice-using-adult-human-stem-cells/","keywords":["Science topic","blindness","eyes"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04f3676fac45400e/69869a67cd804d706accbc9f/151064121.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Hellmann","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04f3676fac45400e/69869a67cd804d706accbc9f/151064121.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Injured Cornea","caption":"Injured Cornea","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2952812/new-technique-creates-corneas-in-mice-using-adult-human-stem-cells/","name":"New Technique Creates Corneas in Mice Using Adult Human Stem Cells"}}]}] ```