Vision

In a major breakthrough for regenerative medicine, scientists have partially restored vision in a blind man using an emerging technique called optogenetics, which enabled the patient to locate and identify objects for the first time in decades.

We all know exercise is good for us, but recently, scientific studies have started to shine a light on how regular physical activity can benefit human health in ways you might not expect. Let's take a look at some interesting examples.

A team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has engineered a novel type of scaffold that could give efforts to tackle vision loss a boost, by improving the precision with which replacement photoreceptor cells can be delivered into the eye.

Yale researchers have found evidence that worms can detect the color blue – even though it doesn’t have eyes or any kind of visual system. In tests, the team found that the color of harmful bacteria influenced whether or not the worms avoided them.

Unlike us, many animals can see ultraviolet light. If you're using a video screen to study their visual perception, therefore, that screen really ought to work in the UV spectrum – and a new one does just that.

One common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS) is vision impairment, and it can progress to blindness in some cases. Now, researchers at the University of California, Riverside report a drug that was able to reverse that vision loss in mice.

A pair of newly published studies are offering novel insights into how the neurodegeneration associated with Parkinson’s disease leads to cognitive decline. The research suggests minor vision problems can precede cognitive decline by up to 18 months.

Glaucoma can cause vision loss that's currently irreversible. But now scientists have found that removing a membrane in the eye could help transplanted cells migrate into the optic nerve and repair the connections, potentially restoring lost vision.

DARPA is starting a program to develop a new multispectral Enhanced Night Vision (ENVision) system for the military that replaces today's heavy night-vision goggles with ones that are as light and compact as a pair of eyeglasses.

One of the ways scientists hope to offer better treatments for vision loss is through gene therapy. Researchers have been left surprised by an experimental form of this, which involved an injection into one eyeball yet improved vision across both.

California's EyeQue has launched a Kickstarter for a vision test system called the VisionCheck 2 that makes use of a smartphone attachment and an app to provide personalized eye tests in the comfort of a user's home.

Using gene therapy, Harvard scientists have restored vision to mice suffering glaucoma by rewinding the aging process in their cells. The team says the research is a proof of concept for slowing the symptoms of aging with epigenetics.