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Better eye discipline may help reduce concussion in female soccer players

With the ever-growing popularity of women's soccer, attention to sports-related concussions is also a growing concern, as the act of heading the ball is thought to contribute to increased incidence of concussion.

19 Jan 2017

Sneezing elicits blinking response to protect the body from germs, says allergist

The changing weather brings about many things: holiday excitement, a different wardrobe and—perhaps most annoyingly—cold and flu season.

9 Dec 2016

Increased sensitivity to uncertain threat common to several anxiety disorders

Several anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and specific phobias, share a common underlying trait: increased sensitivity to uncertain threat, or fear of the unknown, report researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

18 Nov 2016

Scientists discover new distinct eye movement

We probably do it every day, but scientists have only just discovered a distinct new way in which we move our eyes.

23 Aug 2016

New CBIT therapy can help lessen frequency of tics

When Dr. Laura Duda goes into an elementary school classroom, she can usually spot one or two children who have a tic - a rapid, involuntary movement or sound such as sniffing, blinking their eyes or scrunching their faces.

21 Jul 2016

Surgeons outline complete face transplant procedure in facial burn patients

Last year, the most extensive clinical face transplant to date was successfully carried out at NYU Langone Medical Center.

30 Jun 2016

New qPAINT technology helps develop more precise, less expensive microscopes

Knowing the exact number of molecules located at specific junctures in cells can be a critical measure of health as well as disease. For example, abnormally high numbers of growth factor receptors on cells can be an indication of cancerous and precancerous states; specific proteins located at the junction where neurons connect in the brain may affect brain function as they accumulate or disperse.

10 Jun 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

Using Single-Molecule Studies to Understand Cellular Processes: An Interview with Professor W. E. Moerner

Single fluorescent molecules provide a local nanometer-sized probe of complex systems. We can measure the motion of the single molecule, use them to achieve imaging on a scale down to 20 nanometers, or we can infer aspects of the behaviour of the object under study by the details of the light that is emitted.

From Pittcon 26 Jan 2016

Researchers draw link between visual acuity and rhythmic pattern in brain's electrical activity

"Blink and you'll miss it" isn't only for eyelids. The human brain also blinks, dropping a few frames of visual information here and there.

11 Nov 2015

New device turns paralysis victims' breath into words

A new device which transforms paralysis victims' breath into words - believed to be the first invention of its kind - has been developed by academics from Loughborough University.

28 Aug 2015

Researchers report significant progress in management of patients with dry eyes

Do you have problems with dry eyes? If so, you're not alone--it's one of the most common reasons for patient visits to eye care professionals. Recent years have seen significant progress in management of patients with dry eyes, according to the September special issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

28 Aug 2015

More patients experience phantom eye symptoms every day, say University of Liverpool researchers

Researchers from the University of Liverpool have found that approximately half of patients who have an eye removed because of a form of eye cancer experience 'phantom eye syndrome.'

2 Jun 2015

Dopamine-producing neurons affect crucial brain functions

Nerve cells that produce dopamine for the purpose of transmitting signals to other cells affect numerous crucial brain functions.

14 May 2015

Applying eyeliner can cause vision problems

People who apply eyeliner on the inner eyelid run the risk of contaminating the eye and causing vision trouble, according to research by a scientist at the University of Waterloo. This is the first study to prove that particles from pencil eyeliner move into the eye.

2 Apr 2015

Careful blink assessment essential to preserve vision in face transplant procedures

Face transplantation can dramatically enhance a patient's quality of life after severe facial trauma, but lack of attention to eyelid function and vision can leave patients with impaired vision, corneal exposure, eyelid retraction that occurs when the upper or lower eyelid pulls away from the eyeball, and other eyelid-related complications.

31 Dec 2014

Methamphetamine use may increase Parkinson's disease risk

In addition to incurring serious dental problems, memory loss and other physical and mental issues, methamphetamine users are three times more at risk for getting Parkinson's disease than non-illicit drug users, new research from the University of Utah and Intermountain Healthcare shows.

17 Dec 2014

Controlling neural excitations may help prevent detrimental effects like those in stroke, say scientists

What do lasers, neural networks, and spreading epidemics have in common? They share a most basic feature whereby an initial pulse can propagate through a medium - be it physical, biological or socio-economic, respectively. The challenge is to gain a better understanding - and eventually control - of such systems, allowing them to be applied, for instance to real neural systems. This is the objective of a new theoretical study published in EPJ B by Clemens Bachmair and Eckehard Schöll from the Berlin University of Technology in Germany.

4 Dec 2014

Changes in lipid layer of tear film may contribute to contact lens discomfort

Changes in the lipid layer of the eyes' natural tear film may contribute to the common problem of contact lens discomfort, reports a study in the December issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

21 Nov 2014

Researchers explore new ways to treat, prevent Streptococcus pneumoniae

Scientists from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology have used the power of new genomic technology to discover that microbes that commonly infect the eye have special, previously unknown properties. These properties are predicted to allow the bacterium -- Streptococcus pneumoniae -- to specifically stick to the surface of the eye, grow, and cause damage and inflammation.

13 Nov 2014