A device that can 'mimic the action of the front end circuitry of the retina' and send images directly to the brain is being pioneered by a Weill Medical College of Cornell University team.
View this excellent TEDMED talk by neuroscientist Sheila Nirenberg for more details.
(TEDMED talk)
Star Trek fans have been waiting for Geordi la Forge's VISOR (or something like it) to send images directly to the brains of people who have lost their sight.
(Geordi la Forge)
Update 27-Feb-2017: Take a look at the vision strip from Orphans of the Void (1952) by Orville Shaara.
End update.
From Daily Mail; thanks to Moira for sending the tip and the reference (thereby rousing me from my sickbed!).
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/28/2011)
Drug To Regenerate Teeth In Humans
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Stratospheric Solar Geoengineering From Harvard
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'