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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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424 items
Long distance connections in the brain.

Haven’t I seen this before? Study offers new insights into how the brain separates perception from memory

The brain works in fundamentally different ways when remembering what we have seen compared to seeing something for the first time, a team of scientists has found.
Florescent photo of mouse rod photoreceptor, next to photoreceptor schematic showing cell body, inner and outer segments.

Scientists shine light on how eyes adapt to the dark

A basic research study from the National Eye Institute (NEI) explains how the molecule transducin moves within light-sensing rod photoreceptors in mouse retina to help the eye quickly adapt from bright to low light and back.

Powerful enzyme that tamps down inflammation holds promise for protecting eyes in diabetes, premature birth

An enzyme under study to treat certain cancers is also showing promise in reducing the significant vision damage that can result from diabetes and premature birth, scientists report.

3D map reveals DNA organization within human retina cells

National Eye Institute researchers mapped the organization of human retinal cell chromatin, the fibers that package 3 billion nucleotide-long DNA molecules into compact structures that fit into chromosomes within each cell’s nucleus.
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

Eye-opening discovery about adult brain’s ability to recover vision

University of California, Irvine team demonstrates the adult brain has the potential to partially recover from inherited blindness.
Kiam Preston

NEI’s Preston teaches, inspires young scientists

A graduate student at the National Eye Institute, Preston volunteered this summer as a virtual instructor in the 8-week-long Journal of Emerging Investigators Mini Ph.D. Program.
RPE cell

NEI scientists publish protocol for making patient-derived eye tissue

The protocol gives step-by-step instructions, starting with patient-derived pluripotent stem cells, transitioning them to retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and finally maturing them into RPE tissue.
Scientists with plate of bacteria

Wayne State University researchers use drug repurposing to treat resistant bacterial eye infections

Researchers from Wayne State University School of Medicine have identified three non-antibiotic drugs that can protect the eye from severe inflammation during bacterial infection.
A man and a dog in front of an MRI scanner

Decoding Canine Cognition

Scientists have decoded visual images from a dog’s brain, offering a first look at how the canine mind reconstructs what it sees.
Image of an eye with choroideremia, characterized by enlarged RPE cells.

Novel imaging approach reveals important details about rare eye disease choroideremia

Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have shown for the first time how cells across different tissue layers in the eye are affected in people with choroideremia, a rare genetic disorder that leads to blindness.