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NEWS ABOUT: vision

Feds OK First 'Bionic Eye' to Help Blind

Device gives limited vision to those with retinal disease

(Newser) - The FDA has approved the first use of an artificial retina or "bionic eye" to give the blind limited vision, reports the New York Times and Wall Street Journal . Users wear glasses outfitted with a video camera that transmits visual data to electrodes implanted in the eye; the signals... More »

Coffee Drinking Tied to Glaucoma

3 cups a day boosts risk: study

(Newser) - Yet more news in the debate over coffee's benefits and/or risks: A new study suggests a link between coffee and exfoliation glaucoma, a form of the disease that accounts for about 7% to 12% of cases. Noticing that Scandinavians, who drink the most coffee worldwide, also have the highest... More »

New Contact Lenses May Cure Nearsightedness

Prototype might help kids' eyes grow in proper way

(Newser) - If the prototype of a new corrective lens being unveiled later this month works as advertised, nearsightedness—or myopia—might become drastically reduced. As PhysOrg explains, current contact lenses and glasses provide what amounts to a superficial fix for the problem, but they don't keep vision from deteriorating. In... More »

Eye Doctors Zero In on Vision Loss

New treatments hold promise of curing some types of blindness

(Newser) - Those who were once blind may someday see, thanks to decades of research into what causes certain types of blindness. Scientists have developed several types of experimental treatments, including gene therapy, which could help prevent the rare eye disorder known as Stargardt disease, one of many vision problems that results... More »

Long Missions May Wreck Astronauts' Vision

Brain scans show abnormalities in eyeballs, optic nerves

(Newser) - NASA has been worried for a while now about astronauts returning from space with blurred vision and other eyesight problems. A new study in the journal Radiology might help explain why: Brains scans of 27 astronauts who had been on missions longer than a month showed that they had abnormalities... More »

Star Trek-esque Device May Let Blind 'See'

Uses sound to activate visual cortex

(Newser) - Remember the iconic Star Trek visor that allowed a blind engineer to see? A team of scientists in Israel has developed something like a real-life version of the gadget, the Daily Mail reports. The Sensory Substitution Device turns visual information into sound that blind people can interpret after a little... More »

NASA's New Worry: Astronauts Going Blind

It could happen on a trip to Mars

(Newser) - NASA has a serious health concern to resolve before it fires up a manned mission to Mars or some other way-off locale: Astronauts might not be able to see anything once they get there. As the Orlando Sentinel explains, the space agency is seeing more cases of astronauts reporting blurred... More »

Why Elderly Drive Badly: They See Too Much

The brain loses its ability to filter out background visuals: Study

(Newser) - One of the knocks against elderly drivers is that, like Mr. Magoo, they just can't see what's in front of them. A new neurological study flips the premise and suggests that they see too much, reports Scientific American . The theory goes like this: Our brain takes in so much visual... More »

Retinal Implant Restores Partial Vision to Blind

Microchip under retina senses light, sends signals to brain

(Newser) - Scientists in Germany have used an implant to restore at least partial eyesight to three patients with a disease that causes degenerative blindness, PhysOrg reports. The new device, called a sub-retinal implant, is a light-sensitive microchip with 1,500 light sensors inserted below the retina. Previous devices required an implant... More »

Lab-Grown Corneas Restore Sight

Six out of 10 patients were able to see

(Newser) - For the 1.5 million who go blind each year waiting for new corneas, new hope: For the first time, lab-grown corneas have been successfully transplanted—and worked, stimulating regeneration and allowing patients to blink and cry, and, in some cases, fully restoring their sight. Currently, human donors are the... More »

Teary Glenn Beck: I Might Be Going Blind

Macular dystrophy may rob his eyesight

(Newser) - A teary-eyed Glenn Beck has confided to a conservative crowd that disease may rob him of his vision in a year. "I can't focus my eyes," he told some 6,000 people in Salt Lake City on his American Revival tour. After tests, his doc told him: "... More »

Scientists Cure Red-Green Color Blindness in Monkeys

Adult brain can re-wire to use new vision input: study

(Newser) - Scientists have cured red-green color blindness in monkeys, the Times of London reports. Researchers injected a virus containing L opsin, a gene that regulates the production of the red-sensitive light receptor—known as a “cone”—into the retina of red-green colorblind adult monkeys, according to a study published... More »

Lost Contact Lens Delays Brown Speech

British PM, already blind in one eye, may be losing sight in other

(Newser) - Gordon Brown was forced to delay a speech to a Labour Party conference last week after he accidentally washed a contact lens down the sink, reports the Times of London. The British PM had no extra pair, and a staff worker had to detach the pipe beneath the sink to... More »

Vitamins Lower Risk of Vision Loss: Study

B vitamins, folic acid shown to decrease macular degeneration

(Newser) - Folic acid and two B vitamins lowered the risk of vision loss in middle-age women who took the supplements for several years as part of a study, the Boston Globe reports. The study by researchers at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that the combination lowered... More »

"See the Ball, Hit the Ball"

Baseball players boost their averages by honing their vision

(Newser) - Top-level athletes are using technology to sharpen their vision—and their games—even if it's not weak to start with. Not only laser surgery, but amber-tinted contacts, and special pitching machines now help baseball and Olympic softball players hone their eyesight, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »

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