Blindness News and Research

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PATH and SD/Alere announce commercial availability of two diagnostic tools for NTDs

PATH and Standard Diagnostics/Alere announced today the commercial availability of two rapid diagnostic tools for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. Designed for use in disease surveillance, the antibody-based tests are part of a suite of diagnostic innovations intended to support the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a group of illnesses that affect more than a billion people worldwide.

12 Apr 2016

Newly developed light-activated tool could pave way for new generation of anti-diabetic drugs

Researchers have developed a light-activated tool to show how drugs need to be adapted to combat type 2 diabetes.

12 Apr 2016

Research suggests new pathway for preventing optic nerve damage in KPro recipients

Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School have identified inflammatory factors that cause optic neuropathy in the back of the eye following implantation of a keratoprosthesis (KPro) — similar to what glaucoma patients experience, without the rise of pressure in the eye — and have shown that blocking one of those factors, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa), successfully halts the development of optic nerve damage in a mouse model.

11 Apr 2016

WHO marks annual World Health Day, calls for global action on diabetes

The number of people living with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980 to 422 million adults, with most living in developing countries. Factors driving this dramatic rise include overweight and obesity, WHO announced ahead of World Health Day.

7 Apr 2016

Increasing exposure to outdoor light key to reducing short-sightedness in children

Increasing exposure to outdoor light is the key to reducing the myopia (short-sightedness) epidemic in children, according to ground-breaking research by Australian optometrists.

7 Apr 2016

Forensic scientists find that HSV-1 strains could be useful for tracing a person's history

The genomes of two distinct strains of the virus that causes the common lip cold sore, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), have been identified within the same person -- an achievement that could be useful to forensic scientists for tracing a person's history.

6 Apr 2016

Familiar gene manages transport of proteins around the cell

How do cells avoid growing topsy-turvy? Growing so your top, front, bottom and back all wind up on the correct side requires a good sense of direction at the cellular level. A Hiroshima University research group has identified a familiar gene with an unexpected role in directing proteins around the cell.

5 Apr 2016

Latest version of Moovit app now includes new features for blind community

Moovit, the world’s leading local transit app, has just released Version 4.10 on both Android and iOS, with accessibility functionality that will help the blind community travel on public transport with greater ease.

1 Apr 2016

UT Southwestern scientists discover mutation that causes X-linked reticulate pigmentary disorder

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a mutation that causes a rare systemic disorder known as X-linked reticulate pigmentary disorder (XLPDR) and, significantly, the unexpected cellular mechanism by which the mutation causes the disease.

29 Mar 2016

Common genetic defect in beta cells may underlie both known forms of diabetes

New research by Dr. Sylvie Lesage, scientist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital and associate research Professor at University of Montreal, just published in the prestigious international scientific journal Nature Genetics, has discovered that a common genetic defect in beta cells may underlie both known forms of diabetes.

25 Mar 2016

Diet and lifestyle may play greater role than genetics in cataract development, severity

A diet rich in vitamin C could cut risk of cataract progression by a third, suggests a study being published online today in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The research is also the first to show that diet and lifestyle may play a greater role than genetics in cataract development and severity.

24 Mar 2016

Researchers elucidate how cells are blind to chromosome cohesion defects

Research led by Raquel Oliveira, group leader at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, has elucidated how cells are almost blind to chromosome cohesion defects.

24 Mar 2016

Research: X and Y DNA swapping may occur more often than previously thought

It turns out that the rigid "line in the sand" over which the human sex chromosomes---the Y and X--- go to avoid crossing over is a bit blurrier than previously thought. Contrary to the current scientific consensus, Arizona State University assistant professor Melissa Wilson Sayres has led a research team that has shown that X and Y DNA swapping may occur much more often.

24 Mar 2016

Global Health Frontiers' four-part newsmagazine series premieres on public television’s WORLD Channel

The acclaimed public television documentary series Global Health Frontiers expands to a weekly newsmagazine with four one-hour episodes combining compelling journalism from the leading edges of global health developments with a fast-paced and energetic style.

23 Mar 2016

Scientists look for new antibiotic drugs in unexpected places

Many of the drugs we use in hospitals – antibiotics, antifungals and anti-cancer drugs, to name but a few – are produced by bacteria that live in the soil beneath our feet.

22 Mar 2016

Preventing blindness through portable eye examinations: an interview with Dr Mario Ettore Giardini

The number of blind people is high. In 2010, the World Health Organisation estimated that, throughout the world, approximately 39 million people are blind.

21 Mar 2016

IUPUI investigators use stem cells to identify potential therapies to prevent glaucoma

Using stem cells derived from human skin cells, researchers led by Jason Meyer, assistant professor of biology, along with graduate student Sarah Ohlemacher of the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, have successfully demonstrated the ability to turn stem cells into retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the neurons that conduct visual information from the eye to the brain.

21 Mar 2016

Spectral Edge launches new way to enhance accessibility to content for colour-deficient viewers

Spectral Edge today launched a new way for operators to enhance accessibility for colour-blind and colour-deficient viewers, through a server-based version of its innovative Eyeteq technology.

16 Mar 2016

Researchers devise synthetic patch filled with insulin-producing beta cells to control blood sugar levels

For decades, researchers have tried to duplicate the function of beta cells, the tiny insulin-producing entities that don't work properly in patients with diabetes. Insulin injections provide painful and often imperfect substitutes. Transplants of normal beta cells carry the risk of rejection or side effects from immunosuppressive therapies.

16 Mar 2016

Learning complex tactile tasks activates the visual cortex

Biology lessons teach us that the brain is divided into separate areas, each of which processes a specific sense. But findings to be published in eLife show we can supercharge it to be more flexible.

15 Mar 2016

Blindness News and Research

PATH and SD/Alere announce commercial availability of two diagnostic tools for NTDs

Newly developed light-activated tool could pave way for new generation of anti-diabetic drugs

Research suggests new pathway for preventing optic nerve damage in KPro recipients

WHO marks annual World Health Day, calls for global action on diabetes

Increasing exposure to outdoor light key to reducing short-sightedness in children

Forensic scientists find that HSV-1 strains could be useful for tracing a person's history

Familiar gene manages transport of proteins around the cell

Latest version of Moovit app now includes new features for blind community

UT Southwestern scientists discover mutation that causes X-linked reticulate pigmentary disorder

Common genetic defect in beta cells may underlie both known forms of diabetes

Diet and lifestyle may play greater role than genetics in cataract development, severity

Researchers elucidate how cells are blind to chromosome cohesion defects

Research: X and Y DNA swapping may occur more often than previously thought

Global Health Frontiers' four-part newsmagazine series premieres on public television’s WORLD Channel

Scientists look for new antibiotic drugs in unexpected places

Preventing blindness through portable eye examinations: an interview with Dr Mario Ettore Giardini

IUPUI investigators use stem cells to identify potential therapies to prevent glaucoma

Spectral Edge launches new way to enhance accessibility to content for colour-deficient viewers

Researchers devise synthetic patch filled with insulin-producing beta cells to control blood sugar levels

Learning complex tactile tasks activates the visual cortex

Industry Focus eBook - Forensics & toxicology (2nd edition) eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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