NEI Research News

The formation of tumors in the eye can cause blindness. But, for some reason our corneas, the transparent layer that forms the front of our eyes, have a natural ability to prevent it.

Six biological pigments called rhodopsins play well-established roles in light-sensing in the fruit fly eye. Three of them also have light-independent roles in temperature sensation.

NEI funded research experts at the University of Southern California Roski Eye Institute found that visual impairment in preschool children will increase 26 percent affecting almost 220,000 children over the next 45 years.

The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has opened the first stage of a federal prize competition designed to generate miniature, lab-grown human retinas.

An international study of more than 5,417 people helps pinpoint the genetic risk factors associated with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy, the most common disorder requiring corneal transplantation.

Four to 12 percent of people undergoing cataract surgery to replace a cloudy lens with a clear artificial one develop posterior capsule opacification (PCO).

Silencing a gene called Nrl in mice prevents the loss of cells from degenerative diseases of the retina, according to a new study. The findings could lead to novel therapies for preventing vision loss from human diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa.

The breast cancer drug tamoxifen appears to protect light-sensitive cells in the eye from degeneration, according to a new study in mice.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, have discovered that in zebrafish, decreased levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) cue the retina, the light-sensing tissue in the back of the eye, to produce stem cells

NEI-funded scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have discovered how a protein called α2δ4 establishes proper vision.