Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Smoking triggers epigenetic damage linked to macular degeneration

Through a series of experiments supported by the National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) researchers say they have advanced understanding of how smoking damages the eye and contributes to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading worldwide cause of visual impairment and blindness among people 50 and older.

26 Feb 2026

Rising vitamin K shot refusal increases newborn brain injury risk

Increasing numbers of parents are refusing vitamin K shots for their newborns, putting infants at greater risk of avoidable brain injuries, according to a preliminary systematic review released February 26, 2026, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 78th Annual Meeting taking place April 18-22, 2026, in Chicago and online.

26 Feb 2026

Disrupted lymphatic vessels may drive chronic organ transplant rejection

Despite advances in the field of organ transplantation, long-term organ rejection that can become apparent a decade or more after a heart or lung transplant remains a common problem for patients.

25 Feb 2026

Brain rhythms may explain modern digital distraction susceptibility

Scientists may have new answers to why pop-ups or notifications grab our attention. Turns out our attention is on a cycle, shifting seven to ten times per second.

25 Feb 2026

Early-life immune system differences drive childhood eczema risk

A team of researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Weill Cornell Medicine, and other institutions have uncovered a key biological explanation for why eczema so often starts in childhood.

25 Feb 2026

Metabolite-driven AI model accurately estimates time of death

Artificial intelligence can be used to provide a more precise time of death, which can be crucial in e.g. murder investigations.

24 Feb 2026

ARPA-H-funded PROSPR program focuses on the biological hallmarks of aging

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health has received an award as part of the PROactive Solutions for Prolonging Resilience (PROSPR) program within the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to accelerate research on the biological hallmarks of aging.

24 Feb 2026

ChatGPT Health fails critical emergency and suicide safety tests

ChatGPT Health, a widely used consumer artificial intelligence (AI) tool that provides health guidance directly to the public-including advice about how urgently to seek medical care-may fail to direct users appropriately to emergency care in a significant number of serious cases, according to researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

24 Feb 2026

Hospitals fighting measles confront a challenge: Few doctors have seen it before

At around 2 a.m., 7-year-old twin brothers arrived at Mission Hospital in Asheville. Both had a fever, a cough, a rash, pink eye, and cold symptoms.

24 Feb 2026

Oxytocin circuits mediate sleep loss-induced social memory deficits

Social memory-the ability to recognize familiar individuals and distinguish them from strangers-is fundamental to social cognition.

23 Feb 2026

Scientists reveal how the body senses cold and menthol

When you step outside on a winter morning or pop a mint into your mouth, a tiny molecular sensor in your body springs into action, alerting your brain to the sensation of cold.

22 Feb 2026

Brain neurons after exercise drive long-term endurance gains

When you finish a run, your muscles may feel like they did all the work. But researchers at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) have discovered that what happens in your brain after a run may determine whether you gain endurance over time.

19 Feb 2026

WHO validates Libya’s success in eliminating trachoma nationwide

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced that Libya has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, a landmark victory for public health in WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region.

19 Feb 2026

Nevada debuts public option amid tumultuous federal changes to health care

More than 10,000 people have enrolled in Nevada's new public option health plans, which debuted last fall with the expectation that they would bring lower prices to the health insurance market.

19 Feb 2026

Axol Bioscience acquires ophthalmology business from Newcells Biotech

Axol Bioscience Ltd. (Axol), a leading provider of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies for drug discovery and research, today announced that it has acquired the ophthalmology business of Newcells Biotech (Newcells), a leading drug discovery partner specializing in the development of in vitro models and bespoke assay services.

18 Feb 2026

Myopia may be driven by prolonged close-up focus in low-light environments

For years, rising rates of myopia - or nearsightedness - have been widely attributed to increased screen time, especially among children and young adults.

17 Feb 2026

Sleep loss triggers brain fluid pulses that impair attention, study finds

Sleep deprivation causes attentional lapses that coincide with coordinated changes in brain activity, pupil diameter, blood flow, and cerebrospinal fluid dynamics. These findings suggest attention failures reflect a transient brain–body state linked to sleep pressure rather than isolated neural errors.

16 Feb 2026