Vision
Researchers at the Medical and Surgical Center for Retina have developed software that detects eye diseases such as diabetic macular edema using a smartphone.
The technology was designed for general physicians who support the health system in Mexico to detect certain abnormalities without an ophthalmologist and send the patient to the specialist.
It's obviously better and cheaper to prevent blindness rather than try to cure it so an app on a cellphone that just needs to focus on the eye is better in all ways. This is especially important in rural communities, where expertise…
Mosaic |
I’m on the back seat of the lower deck of a number 37 bus, outside the red-brick and Portland stone clock tower of Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton, south London. Although I know exactly where I am, I feel lost. I no longer know whether to trust what my eyes are telling me.
I’ve just been told by a leading vision scientist that I have no real depth perception.
In other words, I have never seen in three dimensions the way most people do.
The lazy eye I’ve had since early childhood means that my brain largely ignores the signals from my right eye, leaving my world flatter than most…
Lisa Marie Potter, Inside Science - Thank goodness for autostabilization, the digital camera feature that compensates for movement to achieve that crystal-clear, spontaneous selfie.
But even more importantly in daily life, our eyes have an ancient form of autostabilization that prevents the world from blurring by. Skinny nerve cells called axons connecting the eye and the brain trigger tiny eye movements that stabilize our field of vision.
For the first time, scientists have identified the molecules that make sure these axons are wired to the exact regions of the brain. The findings could…
Myopia or short-sightedness is becoming more common across Europe, according to a new meta-analysis of findings from 15 studies by the European Eye Epidemiology Consortium which found that around a quarter of the European population is short-sighted but it is nearly twice as common in younger people, with almost half (47 per cent) of the group aged between 25 and 29 years affected.
The analysis of studies covering over 60,000 people, which was published today in the journal Ophthalmology, also found a strong link between myopia and level of education, with myopia levels in those completing…
Scientists have discovered that mutations in the gene DRAM2 cause a new type of late-onset inherited blindness.
The article describes individuals from five families with a variety of DRAM2 mutations, all of which lead to loss of central vision beginning at age 30-40. Peripheral vision loss is also described in older individuals. The light-sensing rear surface of the eye (the retina) relays visual information to the brain. It's a complex layered structure, with each layer of cells carrying out clearly defined functions.
DRAM2 has a role in initiating a cell-recycling process called…
A few months ago, a snapshot of a lace-decorated dress puzzled social networks worldwide. Some people saw a blue and black dress while others saw the same dress as white and gold
The reason behind the confusion, it is now known, is the photograph's overall bluish and yellowish coloring. A team of psychologists set out to experimentally test how it happened.
The team discovered that all test subjects basically perceived similar color shades, only varying in lightness. The perception of colors ranges from a very light blue (almost white) to bright mid blue, from yellow and gold to an intense…
Most cameras have an auto-stabilization feature to compensate for movement during - and our eyes do also.
But in order for that imperceptible reflex that prevents our vision from blurring when we move to do its job, wirelike projections - axons - of specialized nerve cells must find their way from the retina to the correct part of the brain during embryonic development.
How those axons find their way through the brain's maze of neurons to make the right connection could lead to new ways to treat eye movement disorders.
Artistic montage overlaying images from the brains of several…
3,000 children were treated in U.S. emergency departments in 2012 for eye injuries related to paintball guns, airsoft guns, BB guns and pellet guns - but the big increase was in airsoft guns. Paintball injuries have remained minor (0.4 per million children) and for over a decade BB gun manufacturers have restricted sales and marketing to minors, so there are not many "You'll shoot your eye out" moments due to those.
Investigators from the Stanford University School of Medicine found that the rates for eye injuries from non-bullet guns increased by 511% between 2010 and 2012, reaching 8.4 per…
Researchers have solved a genetic mystery that has afflicted three unrelated families, and possibly others, for generations: The genetic basis for a variety of congenital eye malformations, including the complete absence of eyes.
By mapping and sequencing family DNA, the research team found mutations in a protein (RBP4) that transports a form of vitamin A called retinol, an essential nutrient for eye development. The mutations create a functional "double-whammy." First, the mutated proteins fail to transport retinol to the developing embryo. But to make matters worse, they also block…
Phones like the Samsung Galaxy can use facial recognition rather than typing in a security code. The problem is you will end up taking twice as long quite often, because the facial recognition will fail and you type in a PIN anyway. The system is good at rejecting impostors - and also the owner.
What might help is 'morphing' together several photos for the software to analyze, so that users store an 'averaged' picture of themselves.
A research team led by Dr. David Robertson of the University of York Department of Psychology's FaceVar laboratory found that combining different pictures of the…