Wouldn't it be cool to see in total darkness without a flashlight, night vision goggle or some other type of night time tool? We think so!
While we did some research we found some interesting stuff. For instance: Professor Liz Hadly, Professor of Biology says genome research shows our ancestors may have had incredible night vision. Sad to say nature thought as we evolved it was not a necessary feature to enhance or even keep.
Biologically speaking human night vision is impaired because the human eye lacks a tapetum lucidum. That is the tissue behind the retina that reflects light back through the retina thus increasing the light available to the photoreceptors.
New bio-technology research promises to return our nocturnal eyesight. Researchers from University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have been developing nanoparticles, tested successfully on mice, that could one day provide built-in night vision for humans. How cool is that?
In the meantime, we will have to keep using night vision cameras and night time filter coated binoculars.