Blindness News and Research

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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

Researchers provide new mechanism for age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment in people over 50 in developed countries. Although this condition affects up to 20% of people between the ages of 65 and 75, what drives abnormal blood vessels to invade the retina is unknown.

15 Mar 2016

Drugs to help energy-starved photoreceptors offers new avenue for treating AMD , MacTel

New research from Boston Children's Hospital could potentially change how doctors approach two blinding diseases: 'Wet' age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, and macular telangiectasia (MacTel).

15 Mar 2016

Transplantation of periorbital tissues may be feasible alternative to protect vision in facial transplant patients

Transplantation of the periorbital tissues--the area surrounding the eyes--is a "technically feasible" alternative to protect a functioning eye in some patients being considered for facial transplant, according to a study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery--Global Open, the official open-access medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

11 Mar 2016

New, regenerative medicine approach developed to remove congenital cataracts in infants

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute, with colleagues in China, have developed a new, regenerative medicine approach to remove congenital cataracts in infants, permitting remaining stem cells to regrow functional lenses.

10 Mar 2016

Scientists demonstrate method for generating eye tissues to restore lost or damaged vision

Scientists have demonstrated a method for generating several key types of eye tissue from human stem cells in a way that mirrors whole eye development.

10 Mar 2016

Arteriovenous malformations left untreated in children and young adults

Arteriovenous malformations, the most common cause of strokes in children and young adults, are sometimes left untreated, but a sweeping new study strongly suggests that is generally a mistake.

9 Mar 2016

Blindness News and Research

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

Researchers provide new mechanism for age-related macular degeneration

Drugs to help energy-starved photoreceptors offers new avenue for treating AMD , MacTel

Transplantation of periorbital tissues may be feasible alternative to protect vision in facial transplant patients

New, regenerative medicine approach developed to remove congenital cataracts in infants

Scientists demonstrate method for generating eye tissues to restore lost or damaged vision

Arteriovenous malformations left untreated in children and young adults

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