Preventing Vision Loss
The causes behind vision loss from conditions such a macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are complex and are not just one thing but a cascade of cellular and genetic actions that lead to blindness for millions of people. What if there was a way to stop the negative cascade from happening and preserve vision? Thanks […]
Contact Lenses That Deliver Medication
Aren’t contact lenses great? They sit right on the eye and give the wearer more natural vision than glasses. They also don’t fog up in rainy damp weather and don’t get in the way when a person plays sports. Recently, scientists developed a way for contacts to deliver medicine to the eye. This is very […]
Gene Therapy for Leber Congenital Amaurosis
Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA) is a genetic eye disease that affects the retina. It is caused by a mutation in 14 genes that have a role in the development of the retina. Visual impairment starts in infancy and for the most part remains stable, though it can get worse over time. Those with LCA experience […]
Diabetes, Dementia, Vision and Artificial Intelligence
Diabetes, even when managed properly, comes with its share of challenges, such as vision problems and possibly dementia. Yes, you read correctly, dementia. Of course, research is looking into ways to detect both via the eyes. Dementia It has been shown that people with diabetes are more likely to develop dementia. Scientists at the Joslin […]
Optometry and Ophthalmology Working Together, Not Separately
There was a time when optometrists and ophthalmologists did not work together. If you talk to older optometrists and ophthalmologists, you will learn that they considered each other rivals. Now many optometrists and ophthalmologists work together, either in a co-management capacity or within the same practice. One reason for this is the growth of refractive […]
This Arc is More Plastic than Wooden
Binocular vision is a good thing. It allows humans to judge distance and depth, which gives us the ability to distinguish the relationship between objects. When the eyes aren’t in their correct position or can’t focus on the same object, then there are vision problems. It can lead to conditions such as strabismus, also known […]
Visual Processing Part Two
Since it was identified which cells do what for vision, the next question is what part of the brain is in charge of processing visual information? Vision is more complicated than it seems. For the longest time, it was thought that vision was a matter of an image that is cast on the retina and […]
Visual Processing Part One
More than 50 percent of our brain is dedicated to visual processing. Yet there is so much going on. How do our brains process the information that is coming in from our eyes? One research project at Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Munich, University of California Berkeley and Harvard University looked at the retinal […]
Cataracts and the Zika Virus Affect Vision Development
When babies are born, they can see an object with their peripheral vision but their central vision is still developing. Over the first few weeks, as a baby’s retina develops, his or her pupils widen and the baby can see light and dark ranges and patterns. At one month, a baby may briefly focus on […]
Cutting the Fat & Turning Back the Clock
During the coronavirus lockdown, many people used this time to exercise more. As a result, their clothes aren’t as tight and they felt better. The bad thing about the lockdown is that it led to a lot of shortages, like toilet paper. Too bad we can’t turn back the clock to February 2020 and stock […]