Philosophical problem solved by neuroscientists

According to an article appearing today in the New York Times, the Molyneux problem has been answered by neuroscientists. What's the Molyneux problem? It's a question first posed by an Irish politician and scientist, William Molyneux. His question concerns what would happen if a blind person were suddenly given the ability to see. Presented with two objects, a sphere and a cube, would the blind person be able to tell which was which just by looking? He already had tactile experience of these objects. Is that experience sufficient to allow him to make the distinction on the basis of visual perception? Locke famously said that the blind man would not. The recent finding vindicates Locke. Five children from northern India who had been blind from birth but whose vision was restored through surgery were not able to match objects they had touched with one they had seen, they did no better than would be expected if they were just guessing.

This result raised broader questions. Does it show that the Molyneux problem was not a philosophical problem to begin with? Can a philosophical problem be answered empirically? Maybe some can and some can't. What implications, if any, should we draw, then, for the nature of philosophy and philosophical problems?