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The Maker of Gore-Tex Is Experimenting With an Artificial Cornea

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Re: The Maker of Gore-Tex Is Experimenting With an Artificial Cornea

#21

Post by SOLAR_FIELDS »

sverige wrote: post #13

I remember when their clothing line came out decades ago. These days I have what is essentially a Gore-Tex aorta attached to my heart. I'll bet they make a difference in eye repair. They're a pretty interesting company.

Interesting that you mention this. My gut reaction to the article was along the lines of “smart rich maker doing some crazy innovative shit in an area totally unrelated from what they are known for”. Is there anything specific about Gore-Tex that would make you happy that they are pursuing the problem vs some other rich nerd?

Not that rich nerds pursuing problems is a bad thing, I just want to know more about Gore-Tex specifically.

Re: The Maker of Gore-Tex Is Experimenting With an Artificial Cornea

#22

Post by mkl »

varelse wrote: post #8

As someone with Fuchs Dystrophy (which is slowly blinding me), and writing style aside, I'd like to see the aging billionaires of Web 2.0 throw money at more ideas like this instead of at Hail Mary passes to immortality. Is that so much to ask for? I think it's realistic to live to 100 with 90+ good years. Without fundamental breakthroughs in science, it seems like a hard trek to get beyond that. https://www.allabout…

Are transplants of donor corneas not an option? I have keratoconus, and both my current corneas are transplants, done 21 and 26 years ago. Donor corneas are one of the easiest organ transplants there is to deal with, as there's no life-long anti-rejection medication needed. The unusual distortions caused by the donor corneas' attachment (stitches, scar tissue, etc.) are hard for standard glasses lenses to fix completely, but it sure beats blindness!

Re: The Maker of Gore-Tex Is Experimenting With an Artificial Cornea

#23

Post by [deleted] »

varelse wrote: post #8

As someone with Fuchs Dystrophy (which is slowly blinding me), and writing style aside, I'd like to see the aging billionaires of Web 2.0 throw money at more ideas like this instead of at Hail Mary passes to immortality. Is that so much to ask for? I think it's realistic to live to 100 with 90+ good years. Without fundamental breakthroughs in science, it seems like a hard trek to get beyond that. https://www.allabout…

[deleted]

Re: The Maker of Gore-Tex Is Experimenting With an Artificial Cornea

#25

Post by johnmales »

Existing artificial corneas have great difficulties with biocompatibility and more critically stability of the interface between the implant and the host eye tissues. Currently donor corneas are a much better option for most where this is available.

If they can crack the issues this will make a difference, but they are not easy issues to solve. Corneal blindness is important cause of blindness worldwide, with a lot of the burden in places where corneal transplants are not available or not practical.

Re: The Maker of Gore-Tex Is Experimenting With an Artificial Cornea

#26

Post by hannasanarion »

everyone wrote: post #24

On a related note, I highly recommend this doc. (Goretex is made with Teflon) https://youtu.be/6veeTrdEyek Chemicals used to make Teflon, which cause cancer, deformity, etc, have been found in the blood of pretty much everyone worldwide.

No, goretex and Teflon are made with an intermediate applicator chemical called PFOA, which is found in high quantities in carpets, wax paper, and some cleaning products and has been dumped in water sources near chemical factories. Its presence is negligible in clothing and cookware.

Re: The Maker of Gore-Tex Is Experimenting With an Artificial Cornea

#27

Post by BurningFrog »

guelo wrote: post #11
varelse wrote: post #8

As someone with Fuchs Dystrophy (which is slowly blinding me), and writing style aside, I'd like to see the aging billionaires of Web 2.0 throw money at more ideas like this instead of at Hail Mary passes to immortality. Is that so much to ask for? I think it's realistic to live to 100 with 90+ good years. Without fundamental breakthroughs in science, it seems like a hard trek to get beyond that. https://www.allabout…

Instead of relying on billionaire's whims I'd rather we taxed them more and used CDC's and NIH's epidemiology and scientist's opinions to fund research that benefits society the most.

Hard disagree.

The CDC and NIH undoubtedly do great work, but they are one model and thus a single point of failure.

I'd much rather see dozens of more or less eccentric billionaires put money into other things and other ways of organizing and incentivizing research and problem solving.

Re: The Maker of Gore-Tex Is Experimenting With an Artificial Cornea

#28

Post by BurningFrog »

paulcole wrote: post #14
varelse wrote: post #8

As someone with Fuchs Dystrophy (which is slowly blinding me), and writing style aside, I'd like to see the aging billionaires of Web 2.0 throw money at more ideas like this instead of at Hail Mary passes to immortality. Is that so much to ask for? I think it's realistic to live to 100 with 90+ good years. Without fundamental breakthroughs in science, it seems like a hard trek to get beyond that. https://www.allabout…

I mean, yeah as someone with Type 1 diabetes, I’d rather rich people throw money at that than corneas or immortality. But isn’t that why aging rich people dream of immortality? It’s the cure to the “disease” they have. I guess it just boils down to the simple fact that most people are pretty selfish.

What's the problem with immortality?

As a mortal, I'm all for it!

Re: The Maker of Gore-Tex Is Experimenting With an Artificial Cornea

#29

Post by username223 »

farresito wrote: post #15
paulcole wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, yeah as someone with Type 1 diabetes, I’d rather rich people throw money at that than corneas or immortality. But isn’t that why aging rich people dream of immortality? It’s the cure to the “disease” they have. I guess it just boils down to the simple fact that most people are pretty selfish.

To be fair, if you cure aging, you drastically reduce (or make non-existent) the incidence rate of most diseases, since they tend to appear as you get older. I think curing aging is the ultimately smart thing to do.

> ... if you cure aging...

That's a big if. We've spent millions of year evolving to last long enough to reproduce and care for our young. Beyond that, our bodies break down in all sorts of ways ("aging"), and "curing" all of them seems unlikely. Shortening telomeres, reduced muscle and bone mass, slower metabolism, macular degeneration, worn cartilage, arterial plaque...

The ultimately smart thing to do would be to make our current 80 or so years of life as healthy as possible.

Re: The Maker of Gore-Tex Is Experimenting With an Artificial Cornea

#30

Post by handedness »

guelo wrote: post #11
varelse wrote: post #8

As someone with Fuchs Dystrophy (which is slowly blinding me), and writing style aside, I'd like to see the aging billionaires of Web 2.0 throw money at more ideas like this instead of at Hail Mary passes to immortality. Is that so much to ask for? I think it's realistic to live to 100 with 90+ good years. Without fundamental breakthroughs in science, it seems like a hard trek to get beyond that. https://www.allabout…

Instead of relying on billionaire's whims I'd rather we taxed them more and used CDC's and NIH's epidemiology and scientist's opinions to fund research that benefits society the most.

"If it was up to the NIH to cure polio through a centrally directed program instead of independent investigator driven discovery, you'd have the best iron lung in the world, but not a polio vaccine." -Samuel Broder, former Director of the National Cancer Institute
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