Eye News and Research

Latest Eye News and Research

Interpretation of images starts in the retina

Tübingen researchers have shown that image processing in the eye is more extensive than previously thought. They investigated the channels that transmit information from the eye to the brain.

7 Jan 2016

New injectable agent can potentially increase surgeon's ability to remove cancerous tumor during surgery

Doctors at the Duke University School of Medicine have tested a new injectable agent that causes cancer cells in a tumor to fluoresce, potentially increasing a surgeon's ability to locate and remove all of a cancerous tumor on the first attempt. The imaging technology was developed through collaboration with scientists at Duke, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Lumicell Inc.

7 Jan 2016

Physician-researchers find link between 'dry eye' and chronic pain syndromes

Physician-researchers with Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, part of UHealth--the University of Miami Health System, have found a link between "dry eye" and chronic pain syndromes -- a finding that suggests that a new paradigm is needed for diagnosis and treatment to improve patient outcomes.

7 Jan 2016

Researchers link idiopathic congenital nystagmus to a defect in neurocomputation

Botond Roska and his group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research implicate a clearly defined neuron type and its circuit in the retina in the pathophysiology of idiopathic congenital nystagmus.

6 Jan 2016

Researchers identify mechanism that allows cancer cells to grow rapidly when blood sugar levels rise

Researchers have identified a mechanism that allows cancer cells to respond and grow rapidly when levels of sugar in the blood rise. This may help to explain why people who develop conditions in which they have chronically high sugar levels in their blood, such as obesity, also have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer.

6 Jan 2016

Vision of Britain report shows more than 3 in 10 GPs ‘de-skilled’ in diagnosing eye conditions

New research released today reveals an alarming, self-acknowledged gap in family doctors’ skills when it comes to diagnosing and treating patient’s eye conditions.

6 Jan 2016

Using stem cells to tackle CNS disorders: an interview with Dr Stefano Pluchino

My laboratory’s long standing interest is the study of the signaling capabilities of stem cells, both under homeostatic conditions

From Beckman Coulter Life Sciences - Flow Cytometry 5 Jan 2016

Pitt study shows doctors use different body language depending on patients' race

Physicians give less compassionate nonverbal cues when treating seriously ill black patients compared with their white counterparts, a small University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine trial revealed. It is the first to look at such interactions in a time-pressured, end-of-life situation.

5 Jan 2016

International panel of clinical experts comment on state of their fields

In an Editorial published this week in PLOS Medicine, editors ask an international panel of eleven expert researchers and clinicians spanning a range of specialties to answer questions on their field and what developments they hope and expect to see in 2016.

30 Dec 2015

SDSU researchers explore ways to eradicate thirdhand smoke

When cigarette smoke is blown into the environment, its chemical constituents don't just vanish into thin air. Residue from the smoke settles into, accumulates and is stored in the surrounding environment, such as upholstery, carpets, walls, clothing and curtains.

30 Dec 2015

Presence of myopia significantly affects muscles used in focusing lens of the eye

The presence of myopia, or nearsightedness, significantly affects the muscles used in focusing the lens of the eye--a finding with important implications for the development of "accommodating" implanted intraocular lenses (IOLs) that can adjust to different visual distances, reports a study in the January issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

29 Dec 2015

Environmental contaminants contributing to increase in bacterial resistance

While the rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has prompted the medical community, non-profit organizations, public health officials and the national media to educate the public to the dangers of misusing and overusing antibiotics, the University of Georgia's J. Vaun McArthur is concerned that there's more to the problem than the misuse of common medications.

24 Dec 2015

Study explores how contextual information shapes our visual perception

The Thalamus not only relays visual signals from the eye to the visual cortex as previously thought, but also conveys additional, contextual information.

23 Dec 2015

Dynamic light scattering technique may help detect people at risk of cataracts and presbyopia

As we age, proteins in the lenses of our eyes start misbehaving: They unfold and congregate in clusters that block, scatter and distort light as it passes through the lens. A cloudy area, or cataract, forms. In a new study, scientists found that throughout our lifetime, levels of a key protein decline, and may be an early warning sign of a developing cataract.

23 Dec 2015

Medication poisoning threatens young children in poor areas

Children younger than 5 who live in economically disadvantaged areas had a greater risk of medication poisoning that resulted in referral to a health care facility, according to scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the University of California, San Diego. These areas were rural and experienced high unemployment, along with lower rates of high school graduation and lower household income.

23 Dec 2015

Study identifies genetic factors that play role in AMD

An international study has identified the number of genetic factors known to play a role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the worldwide leading cause of blindness in the elderly.

23 Dec 2015

New QUT research reveals road rumble strip could be a wake-up call to pull over

Drowsy drivers are being urged to stop and take a break the first time they hit a road rumble strip these school holidays, with new QUT research revealing the audio-tactile vibrations should be a wake-up call to pull over.

23 Dec 2015

Researchers identify child pedestrian behaviors that promote accidents

"Look both ways before you cross the street" may be sage advice, but it is also apparently necessary for children as old as 13, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers, who have pinpointed many of the behaviors that lead to child pedestrians being hit by cars.

23 Dec 2015

New study reveals why some vestibular schwannomas cause hearing loss

A new study at Massachusetts Eye and Ear showed that in some cases of vestibular schwannoma, a sometimes-lethal tumor often associated with neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2), secretions from the tumor contain toxic molecules that damage the inner ear.

23 Dec 2015

Study: Brains of compulsive video game players wired differently

Brain scans from nearly 200 adolescent boys provide evidence that the brains of compulsive video game players are wired differently. Chronic video game play is associated with hyperconnectivity between several pairs of brain networks.

22 Dec 2015