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Dick Bramer, 76, likes to watch birds. But for two years he couldn't see them well enough to identify the various species. Bramer suffered what doctors diagnosed as an ocular stroke (they said a small particle of plaque must have blocked blood flow to the optic nerve) in one eye. A friend happened to tell about Low Vision Restoration in Blaine, Minnesota. Optometrist Chris Palmer prescribes devices that can help improve people's vision when other glasses can't. Palmer fitted Bramer with the devices, which are like miniature binoculars or telescopes affixed to regular glasses. Bramer tried them out and suddenly...

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common form, and yet the cause of this disease is poorly understood. Findings from previous genome-wide association studies suggest that there is a complex metabolic network that affects optic nerve health. Researchers aimed to identify plasma metabolites associated with risk of developing POAG in a case-control study nested within the prospective Nurses' Health Studies and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. This study included 599 participants who developed POAG and 599 matched controls and examined pre-diagnostic circulating plasma metabolites from approximately 10 years before POAG...

Just three minutes of exposure to deep red light once a week, when delivered in the morning, can significantly improve declining eyesight, finds a pioneering new study by UCL researchers. In summary, researchers found there was, on average, a 17% improvement in participants' color contrast vision when exposed to three minutes of 670 nanometre (long wavelength) deep red light in the morning and the effects of this single exposure lasted for at least a week. However, when the same test was conducted in the afternoon, no improvement was seen. In humans around 40 years old, cells in the eye's retina...

The startup, Mojo Vision, showed off a very early prototype in meetings at CES last week and is now ready to start talking about the product’s development. Mojo Vision hopes to first create a smart contact lens that can assist people with low vision by displaying enhanced overlays of the world, sharpening details or zooming in to help them see. But that reality seems to be a ways away. The prototype shown at CES included a green, monochromatic display that was wired to a large battery, and the company still needs to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration...

Do any of you suffer from "floaters" in your eyes? I'm finding it increasingly difficult with my vision. Is there a remedy for this? I have noticed that my vision has deteriorated significantly the past few years. Just want some input.

...Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed the hybrid image called "Marilyn Einstein," which, if you have clear vision, will look like the Hollywood bombshell from afar but will shift into an image of the revered physicist when it gets up close. People who have vision problems may not be able to see a picture of Einstein anywhere....

Bacteria can see, using their entire one-celled selves as a tiny camera lens to focus light, researchers reported Tuesday. The ability goes beyond just a vague sense of where the light is, and allows the one-celled organisms to find just the right spot, the team reported in the journal eLife. "The idea that bacteria can see their world in basically the same way that we do is pretty exciting," said Conrad Mullineaux of the University of Freiburg in Germany and Queen Mary University of London.

Pupils' shape and size can reveal whether your kitten is a hunter or the hunted, research shows, Zee News reports. The study also said that species with pupils that are vertical slits are more likely to be ambush predators that are active both day and night. "For species that are active both night and day, like domestic cats, slit pupils provide the dynamic range needed to help them see in dim light yet not get blinded by the midday sun," said lead researcher Martin Banks, professor of optometry at University of California-Berkeley. The vertical slits of domestic cats and...

Science News Teach children outside to save their vision, say scientists By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor 5:35PM BST 23 Apr 2015 Children should be allowed to study outside to stop them becoming short-sighted, a new study suggests. Researchers believe that youngsters are spending so long inside for lessons that it is damaging their eyesight. In China, pupils are already being taught in huge translucent boxes to try and halt their vision decline after a study found that 80 per cent of children in Beijing were short-sighted. Around 40 per cent of Britons suffer from myopia, or short-sightedness, with experts warning...

There’s one thing you may have begun to notice about digital design and 3D printing: whatever you think might happen in the future is probably going to advance far beyond whatever you envisioned or thought might be a cool idea. And literally, one day you may be envisioning your entire world, and recording it as well, through completely artificially constructed, 3D printed eyeballs. You may be able to say goodbye to prescription glasses and contact lenses — and even your camera, as your original retina is replaced by a new and digital network contained inside your head, and even able...

New implant improves vision for older people struggling with cataracts, astigmatism, or long and short-sightedness. For many people getting older brings a catalogue of vision problems which make everyday tasks like reading and driving a major challenge. But a new lens implant which mimics the working of a youthful eye is giving sight back to people struggling with cataracts, astigmatism, or long and short-sightedness. It is the first lens that corrects for all types of vision problems at once and can be inserted in just a simple operation. It works at any distance and in any light condition, acting more...

But you'll still need to wear glasses An international research team has built a set of contact lenses designed to help those of us getting on a bit in years, which can magnify vision up to x2.8 and be worn all day. As the body ages, the central part of the retina can decay, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the increasingly elderly Western world. The contact lens developed by the team uses refracting mirrors to increase the magnification to the cornea, which when coupled with a set of LCD spectacles, can correct failing...

lately all the fonts seem to be more greyscale than black ...

BBC News today reported that “two blind British men have had electronic retinas fitted”. Chris James, 54, and Robin Millar, 60, took part in a clinical trial coordinated by Oxford University and funded by the National Institute of Health Research. Both men have retinitis pigmentosa, a rare hereditary condition that causes gradual deterioration of the light-detecting cells in the retina, which can lead to blindness. The electronic retinas are implants containing light detectors designed to replace the lost light-detecting cells. Immediately following the procedures, when the implants were switched on, both men were able to detect light and are now...

Gene Therapy Transforms Eyesight Of 12 People With Rare Visual Defect A single injection in a patient's eye brings 'astounding' results. The findings may offer hope for those with macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. Thomas H. Maugh II October 24, 2009 Pennsylvania researchers using gene therapy have made significant improvements in vision in 12 patients with a rare inherited visual defect, a finding that suggests it may be possible to produce similar improvements in a much larger number of patients with retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. The team last year reported success with three adult patients, an achievement that was...

A Veterans Administration probe that found eight veterans suffered potentially preventable vision loss while under the care of optometrists at a Northern California VA facility is prompting medical groups to call for a state investigation. The groups sent a petition Wednesday to the California Department of Consumer Affairs seeking an evaluation of the care received by the veterans at VA Palo Alto. The patients had glaucoma, a class of eye diseases that can lead to blindness. The California Medical Association, California Academy of Eye Physicians & Surgeons and American Glaucoma Society want the state to suspend a new state law...

Three in four parents are risking their child's eyesight by exposing them to bright sun without appropriate protection, experts warn. Nearly a third of parents in Britain do not buy their children sunglasses, a poll of 2,000 people for the College of Optometrists revealed. Of those who do, nearly half put price before protection and only a quarter buy sunglasses from a trusted brand. The College recommends choosing dark glasses with a CE mark for quality.

LOS ANGELES — As a promising Caltech graduate student in applied physics, Stephen Kurtin could have taken a job offer from Intel at the dawn of the microelectronics era 40 years ago. Instead he followed the path of a lone inventor, gaining more than 30 patents in fields including word processing software and sound systems, culminating in the pair of glasses resting on his nose, which he believes can free nearly two billion people around the world from bifocals, trifocals and progressive lenses. The glasses have a tiny adjustable slider on the bridge of the frame that makes it possible...

Has anyone experienced this or heard of God giving someone much better eyesight where everything becomes much clearer temporarily? I am talking about physical eyesight. I mentioned this has happened to me many times at a ministry meeting this week and one person said it has happened to him once after a dream he believes was from God. I have experienced this after dreams, during fellowship with God, while in the Word of God, approximately 20 to 40 times in the last 25 years. Everything becomes clearer, crystal clear instantly. You can just see a lot better. My normal eyesight...

RAWAH — The town of Rawah has had many improvements since Coalition forces arrived. With their help, and the assistance of several organizations from Colorado, the local residents will soon be able to see the progress a little better. Coalition forces recently delivered over 700 prescription eyeglasses to help provide the residents of Rawah with badly needed prescription lenses. “We are helping increase the quality of life for many of the people who could otherwise not afford prescription glasses,” said Navy Lt. Malcolm Brown, battalion surgeon for 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5. “There have been instances...