Vision

Presbyopia is a common form of age-induced far-sightedness. Now a Stanford team has developed a pair of high-tech specs called autofocals, which use fluid-filled lenses, depth-sensing cameras and eye-tracking technology to make sure whatever a wearer is looking at stays sharp.

​Caused by autoimmune diseases, chemical burns, or sometimes even as a side effect of eye surgery, corneal melting is an incurable disease that's a major cause of blindness. It could someday be treated using a contact lens, however, which is currently in the works.

​Have you ever wondered what the world looks like to birds? Well, Swedish scientists have created a camera that will show you. Amongst other things, it has revealed that birds see tree foliage as much more than just a uniform "wall of green."

Researchers at Caltech have revealed two illusions illustrating how our brain can be tricked into seeing something that isn’t really there. The phenomenon is known as postdiction, and highlights how our perception of reality is actually constructed by our brain retroactively.

Contact lenses may be useful for restoring vision to short- or long-sighted people, but not so much at correcting color blindness. Now researchers from the University of Birmingham have developed a contact lens that can help correct certain kinds of color blindness, thanks to a safe, low cost dye.

By putting tiny 3D glasses on the bugs, researchers at Newcastle University have found that praying mantises possess a unique, previously unknown type of 3D vision that's based on movement.

It's been a truly historic year for modern medicine with the FDA for the first time approving several gene therapies for public use. The latest approval, this time for treating a rare form of inherited vision loss, marks 2017 as a milestone year in the field of medicine.

In August, the FDA approved the first gene therapy for general use in the United States. Now another gene therapy is on the cusp of approval, this time to treat a form of blindness. If approved, this therapy could pave the way for a whole host of treatments for genetically-based vision problems.

We already know that "higher" animals such as mammals can track the trajectory of moving objects, and anticipate where they're heading. Thanks to new research, however, we now also know that dragonflies can do the same thing. It is hoped that the finding could lead to advances in human technology.

​Repairing people's sense of sight by way of retinal implants is a field of research that is seeing some rather promising advances. Now researchers say they have broken new ground in the area, which brings with it the prospect of more successful integration in the human body.

Engineers have tested a nano-system that could restore sight through a retinal implant that responds to light by directly stimulating the neurons that send visual signals to the brain. Unlike other systems, the new device requires no external sensors, and can provide a much higher resolution.

​​So often we see scientists turn to the natural world for ways to improve robotics, and soon they may be directing their gaze toward the so-called robber fly. This little critter has a remarkable ability to spot and capture its prey, even when it requires a swift, last-minute change of direction.