Medicine: Bright Vision of the Future

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The conference offered other glimpses of ocular miracles on the horizon. Among them: "synthetic corneas," tinted plastic inserts that protect the glare-sensitive eyes of albinos; and soft contact lenses that prevent blindness in newborns who have undergone cataract surgery. Contact lenses that can be worn continuously for 100 days are already available to correct myopia and for use after cataract surgery. Soon good bifocal and astigmatic versions will be on the market. Experts say that the day is not far off when a person will buy a six-pack of disposable lenses each year, wear them for two months, throw them away and pop in the next pair. One thing seems increasingly likely: if Woody Allen were to wake up in 2182, he would be the only one wearing glasses.

—By Claudia Wallis. Reported by Dick Thompson/San Francisco