Human IR Vision Project

[PRowlands]

Dear Science Forums community,

There's been an exciting development in the realms of DIYbio and biohacking. The research team Science for the Masses, of which I am a member, is performing an experiment with the aim of biologically extending the range of human vision into the near infrared--all by means of a dietary shift!

In 1939 the renowned researcher George Wald (credited with first identifying the role of retinol in phototransduction) published an article entitled "The Porphyropsin Visual System". This paper described a phototransduction system at work in the retinas of freshwater fish. This system is in many ways similar to that utilized by humans and other mammals, with one key difference: the -opsin photopigments of freshwater fish utilize the aldehyde of 3,4-dehydroretinol (vitamin A2) rather than the traditional retinol aldehyde (vitamin A).

What is the result of this alternate visual system? Well, for one, infrared vision. The Mozambique Tilapia, for instance, has been shown to be sensitive to light with wavelengths of up to 950nm.

Now here's the really exciting part: research has indicated humans can use this visual system too. Indeed, vitamin A2 is already present in our diets in varying amounts; the reason our opsins don't use it is a combination of binding proteins and cellular transport mechanisms having approximately 4x the affinity for A1 as compared to A2, and competitive inhibition by A1.

The implications of this are astounding: by removing a significant percentage of retinol from our systems with a vitamin A deficient (VAD) diet, supplementing with retinoic acid to maintain basic metabolic function, and supplementing with 3,4-dehydroretinol (A2), porphyropsin production in the human retina will occur.

This is exactly what we at Science for the Masses intend to do. We will achieve vitamin A deficiency by means of a special VAD diet designed by the generous Mr. Rhinehart, inventor of Soylent, and supplement with retinoic acid and 3,4-dehydroretinol. Data collection will be facilitated by an array of LEDs in the near infrared range within a zero-light enclosure. The data will be measured and recorded by a combination ERG/corneal electrode array, which will pick up on electrophysiological responses to flashes of NIR light.

<link and request for crowdfunding removed per rules>
Please consider helping to fund our project. We are performing this experiment on our own time and primarily our own resources, and any financial assistance, however small, will be appreciated. The results of this experiment will be published free and open source.

If you have any questions whatsoever about this project, please feel free to ask them in this thread and I will get to them as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can email us at our shared project account porphyropsin@gmail.com.

Thank you for reading and I hope you'll consider supporting our project!

Sincerely,
Peyton Rowlands
FAQ

Doesn't Vitamin A deficiency cause blindness? Aren't you worried about going blind?

The risk of this is actually quite low. From our research, we are confident that A2 can act in place of A1. We just naturally use A1 more commonly and quickly than A2. Beyond this any decrease in visual acuity that might happen is easily remedied but stopping the experiment and eating foods high in A1.

What makes you think that there will be Vitamin A2 uptake into the eye?

There is little doubt that there will be A2 uptake and utilization. If this isn't the case, it's still valuable because then there must be some difference in the human eye from pretty much all other species. Assuming A2 is bound by opsin, this doesn't automatically mean it's going to result in the visual change we want. In theory, we might find that we can't get the eyes to form enough porphyropsin via this method to affect a change we are able to notice. Reviewing previous studies though, we rather doubt this outcome. It's just a good policy to remain open to such factors.

What kind of data do you expect to be getting from the EEG readers? I wasn't aware that you could get useful info about vision from them. Are you using them in combination with some other sensors?

We are actually going to be using an electroretinograph (ERG). An ERG provides a simple yes/no answer to whether or not the photoreceptors are being stimulated. So a few electrodes are applied near the eye, and a type of contact lense electrode is applied directly to the eye. A cowling will prevent undesirable light from reaching the eye. When a photostrobe in the near IR range is used to stimulate the eye, the ERG should then indicate whether or not the eye is senstive to this particular frequency. This way we can determine if there has been a shift in spectrum sensitivity, the degree of shift, and amplitude of response to the stimulation. If this works, won't the body heat from your own body mess up your infrared vision? Despite the way it is often portrayed, infrared and heat vision are not the same thing. The wavelengths for infrared and heat are quite different, and the range that we are looking at would not be near the area that makes bodies glow.

How exactly are you planning to cut vitamin A out of your diet? Don’t you run the risk of becoming deficient in other nutrients by doing so?

This is an issue that has already been addressed and resolved. It’s true that achieving the correct balance of essential vitamins and nutrients is difficult enough even without peculiar restrictions like “no vitamin A”, so we decided to bypass the issue entirely --by cutting food completely out of the picture. No, seriously! Mr. Rob Rhinehart, the inventor of Soylent, an all-in-one meal replacement substance, has agreed to supply us with a special formula containing all the necessary vitamins and nutrients except for vitamin A. An added benefit is that this makes our nutrient intake about as consistent as humanly possible while carrying on with our daily lives, thereby making the data produced by this project that much more valid. Check out Mr. Rhinehart's research in nutrition at <link Removed>

Edited January 9, 2014 by imatfaal
removal of links and request for funding

[AbeMichelson]

Heat = IR. You are describing Near-IR.

One question:

Does Soylent come in green?

Edited January 8, 2014 by AbeMichelson

[Endy0816]

Saw this in Wired. Pretty interesting work.