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 […]
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 […]
Research
Thanks to biomedical research, our understanding of the human body is evolving and this has led to treatments that improve health outcomes. This includes vision research and as a result, more is being learned about what leads to amblyopia and a possible treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Amblyopia Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, […]
On/Off Switches Part One
Isn’t electricity great? You flip a switch and an appliance turns on or off. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to do something similar for our bodies, in particular our eyes. That way when an injury or disease comes along, something in the cellular level could be turned on or off and […]
Immune System & Eye Disease: More than Meets the Eye
Having an immune system is a good thing. It deals with bacteria and viruses, so that either we don’t get sick or if we do, our body fights them off and, for the most part, sickness isn’t fatal. Sometimes our immune system doesn’t work the way we want it to. That can range from an […]
Myopia Can Be Reversed In Children With Bifocal Contacts
True confession: I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 10 years-old. It didn’t bother me to wear glasses because I was so pleased to be able to see the chalkboard clearly. For me, wearing glasses was a simple thing I could do to maintain good grades. Many kids aren’t like me in that they aren’t […]
There’s a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Use Social Media
It’s very easy to point the finger at teenagers these days. If they are not dressed oddly, then they are talking in slang or, the horror, posting inappropriate content on social media. Well, it isn’t just teenagers who are guilty of posting the wrong things on social media, adults can do that, as well. I’m […]
Color and Health
“So and So is the picture of health.” “So and So has a sickly pallor.” This is the 21st century and with all the advances that have taken place in medicine, we still associate certain colors with health or the lack thereof. This is especially true when seeing someone’s face. Aren’t these things as arbitrary […]
Regeneration in the Retina
The human body has an amazing ability to heal itself. If you get a paper cut, the cut heals in seven to ten days. If you get a bruise, it heals within two to four weeks. If you get a broken bone, it takes three to ten weeks to heal. An injury to the retina […]
Retina Patterns Tell a Story
No one has to sell eye doctors on how cool the human eye is. One interesting area of the eye that is being researched is the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). This is the layer of cells that is next to the retina. It acts as a conduit between the photoreceptors of the retina and the […]