I'm Elise Hugh. You're listening to TED Talks Daily. I had no idea about this incurable disease until hearing today's talk. It's from researcher Joshua Chutan. It's the leading cause of blindness in the developed world, which is a stunning stat. In his talk from Ted X Christchurch in 2019, Chutan takes us

through the rather beautiful process that allows us to see, to help explain the pioneering

science to keep us seeing clearly. Now, to start off today, I want everyone to close their eyes.

Now, think about the first thing that you saw this morning when you opened your eyes.

You know, was there that stain on your ceiling that you keep putting off cleaning?

Was it your partner's face or your child jumping on top of you?

Was it the morning rays of the sun, just creeping in through the

blinds, that mixture of pink, orange, and yellow that signifies the start of a new day?

Keep your eyes shut just for a moment longer, and imagine waking up now, but instead of those

beautiful images, all you could see is what you're seeing right now.

Darkness. Those thoughts, those images of the first thing you saw this morning being exactly

what it is now, just a memory, an image conjured by your brain from your past.

Now open your eyes. When I ask people what the one sense that they

couldn't live without is, most will immediately say their sight. And you can understand why that is.

I mean, our vision and what we see play such an integral role in to how we perceive the world around

us. I mean, just look at how much we spend on buildings, on parks, on architecture,

on things just to please our visual sense.

But what if we can't see?

What if we lose this gift?

Well, this is exactly what happens in age-related macular degeneration, or AMD.

This disease is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world.

This disease affects one in seven New Zealanders over the age of 50, and yet the most common form of this disease has no cure.

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