Millions of people suffer from retinal disorders, such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. A new study suggests that injecting gold nanoparticles into the retina and stimulating those particles with lasers could restore partial vision for these patients. The gold nanoparticles, excited by lasers, produce heat that stimulates bipolar and ganglion cells, which allows for the bypassing of the defective photoreceptors. Scientists at Brown University injected gold nanoparticles into the retinas of laboratory mice and successfully restored vision in those with retinal disorders like macular degeneration. At first glance, the method may seem counterintuitive—how does injecting a miniscule amount of a soft metal repair damaged photoreceptors in patients with macular degeneration?