Dispensary Corner

SORRY kids, the old favourite nursery rhyme “Three Blind Mice” may have to have its tail cut off.

US researchers at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, have been able to help the retinas of blind mice restructure themselves into regaining normal responses to light, using gene therapy.

This is important because the death of rod photoreceptors in the retina is a major cause of human blindness, with researchers saying these abnormalities can be reversed in people who previously had no hope of regaining sight.

So, “three blind mice went for their gene therapy and were able to dodge the farmer’s wife’s blade” ... hmmm, doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

HERE’S another version (source unknown):

“A trio of retinally-challenged rodents: observe the manner of their perambulatory hyperactivity; observe same; they all pursue the agriculturalist’s spouse, who in turn, forcefully indulges in a violent extrication of their cordal appendages; did you ever witness such a dramatic turn of events, as a trio of retinally-reticent rodents?”

Hmmm - same problem - no music to it, and overstated.