Ignacio Provencio: Article Analysis

In Ignacio Provencio’s article about the retinas and photoreceptors from 2011, one finds that there have been many developments in the technology, giving the world a better view on the organs that allow us to view at all. Provencio specifically works with mice. In his experiments he worked with blind mice that still responded to light in the same way mice that can see would.
Contrary to older research, it turns out there are more than cones and rods in our eyes. An example he makes relates to our ears having more than one function than just hearing. Our ears also have a part in our normal equilibrium and balance. This same concept is in our eyes- as forming images to our brain and the internal clocks we have inside of us that make us sleep or feel awake. Another interesting point Provencio makes in his article explains how the weather can affect our mental health. In extreme weather where the sun doesn’t shine as bright, our …show more content…
Because their skin changes from different colors or textures when there are different levels of light. A new protein was discovered from experimenting with these camouflage cells as well as the blind mice eye cells: melanopsin. This protein specifically works with darkening. Looking farther into other eye, melanopsin was also found in ganglion cells, the cells in the retina. Melanopsin was also found in human eyes! This can help to explain the contracting and subcontracting of the pupil when exposed to light. To put this into a realistic use, knowing that the ganglion cells contain melanopsin shows that we can change them blind mice’s clocks internally to healthier amounts of active/inactivity times during the day. Then the next experiment messed up everything that Provencio and his team had known. They tried observing the melanopsin inside of the mice that did not produce any melanopsin, and they did not have any issues reacting to light