NEI Research News

A proposal to create a living model of the human retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, won $90,000 in the National Eye Institute (NEI) 3-D Retina Organoid Challenge (3-D ROC).

UW Medicine scientists funded by NEI are discovering how the brain functions when figuring out shapes that are fully seen or partially covered. As the task becomes more difficult, a reasoning and sensory parts of the brain interact through signals.

Researchers at The Rockefeller University have begun to unravel the mystery of how the brain recognizes familiar faces. Their results are published in the journal Science.

Cells within an injured mouse eye can be coaxed into regenerating neurons and those new neurons appear to integrate themselves into the eye’s circuitry, new research shows.

A solar eclipse will be visible across North America for 2 to 3 hours on Monday, August 21, 2017. Watching the moon slowly block out the sun is a rare opportunity but should be attempted with caution.

NEI funded researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have identified an enzyme present in the cornea that trigger inflammation during–and even after–a herpes virus infection. Their results are published in the journal Cell Reports.

Bugs in your eyes may be a good thing. Resident microbes living on the eye are essential for immune responses that protect the eye from infection, new research shows.

Recent strides toward understanding dry eye are leading to better and longer-lasting therapies for the millions of people in the U.S. who are affected by the condition.

Research funded by the National Eye Institute aims to reverse progression of cataracts—the most common cause of blindness worldwide—or to prevent them from forming altogether.

A new NEI-funded study in Nature helps to explain how specialized retinal cells help stabilize vision by perceiving how their owner is moving.