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NEI Research News

Thanks to the work of NEI scientists and grantees, we’re constantly learning new information about the causes and treatment of vision disorders. Get the latest updates about their work — along with other news about NEI.

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939 items
A woman, putting on goggles, sits at a workbench with tools. Image in black and white.

Study explains why the brain can robustly recognize images, even without color

A new study from MIT offers a possible explanation for how the brain comes to be adept at identifying both color and color-degraded images, even though the human visual system has sophisticated machinery for processing color.
Mouse retinal blood vessels

How neurons build a 3-D vascular structure to keep the retina healthy

Researchers at UC San Francisco have found a new type of neuron that guides the formation of a lattice of blood vessels nourishes cells in the retina.
Schematic of Mouse arrestin-1 gene.

Study suggests high-frequency electrical ‘noise’ results in congenital night blindness

Findings from mouse study indicate how one mutation of rhodopsin may cause congenital stationary night blindness in humans.
Illustration of a DNA spiral

Scientists unravel genetic basis for neurodegenerative disorders that affect vision

Led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a team of scientists has uncovered the complex molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders linked to the gene PNPLA6.
microscopic image of a COVID-19 virion

COVID-19 virus could damage vision

Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine have discovered that the virus that causes COVID-19 can breach the blood-retina barrier with potential long-term consequences in the eye.
Dave Steele

Blind poet visits NIH

Dave Steele, AKA The Blind Poet, brought his metered message of hope and inspiration to the NIH campus.
fundus photo showing diabetic retinopathy

Wayne State University receives NIH grant to combat sight damage from diabetes

A five-year grant will fund research investigating biological processes that contribute to defects in immune response in the eyes of those with diabetes and identify methods to reverse them.
LCA is an inherited disorder that causes vision loss in childhood. It primarily affects the functioning of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, as shown here. Photo credit: National Eye Institute

Participants of pioneering CRISPR gene editing trial see vision improve

About 79% of clinical trial participants experienced measurable improvement after receiving experimental, CRISPR-based gene editing that is designed to fix a rare form of blindness.
Qiuhua Yang, Yuqing Huo and Yongeng Cai in a laboratory.

MCG scientists identify new treatment target for leading cause of blindness

A gene previously implicated in the development of atherosclerotic lesions in coronary arteries could be key to understanding why many people don’t benefit from the most used therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

New fellowship program aims to further understanding of the publication process

The National Eye Institute has worked with the editors-in-chief of 7 leading vision journals to create a new two-year program: the Council of Vision Editors Fellowship Program.