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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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237 items
Yellow, red and purple multi-colored mosaic

Imaging Method Reveals Long-lived Patterns in Cells of the Eye

Cells of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) form unique patterns that can be used to track changes in this important layer of tissue in the back of the eye, researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have found.
Grantee News

Molecular Classification and Comparative Taxonomies of Foveal and Peripheral Cells in Primate Retina

A team of researchers led by Harvard's Joshua Sanes applied high-throughput genetic sequencing methods to create the first cellular atlas of the primate retina.
Two boys smile at camera. Dark spot in center of image represents vision loss from AMD.

NIH Researchers Home in on Genes Linked to Age-Related Macular Degeneration

National Eye Institute scientists led a collaborative study and zeroed in on genes associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss and blindness among people age 65 and older.
Grantee News

IUPUI researchers re-create retinal microenvironment in a dish with human stem cells

IUPUI scientists have used retinal ganglion cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells to create models that better mimic the human retina.
Grantee News

Microscopic eye movements affect how we see contrast

A team of researchers has discovered how the brain uses tiny, unconscious eye movements to pick up differences in brightness, likely by “refreshing” signals hitting the retina.
Side-by-side panels showing retinal vessels. Left panel filled with green, right panel much less green.

Faulty molecular master switch may contribute to AMD

A signaling pathway controlled by transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) could be involved in the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
A scanning electron micrograph image shows a polarized RPE monolayer on a biodegradable scaffold. The image is colored to highlight the scaffold in blue, three RPE cells (brown), and the apical processes of cells in RPE monolayer are light green.

NIH researchers rescue photoreceptors, prevent blindness in animal models of retinal degeneration

Using a novel patient-specific stem cell-based therapy, researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) prevented blindness in animal models of geographic atrophy, the advanced “dry” form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)...
Graphs comparing neuronal signal detected by multiple methods.

Researchers design technology that sees nerve cells fire

Researchers at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, have created a noninvasive technology that detects when nerve cells fire based on changes in shape.
Multiphoton images show the outer segments of cone and rod photoreceptor cells in 215-day retinal organoids. Immunostaining shows a marker for cones (green) and rods (red). The “A” view shows optical sections; “B” is a reconstructed three-dimensional view.

NEI Awards Prize for Progress Toward Developing Lab-Made Retinas

The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded $25,000 to a team led by Wei Liu, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, for demonstrating progress toward the development of a living model of the human retina...
Images show multimodal technique using adaptive optics and angiography to simultaneously see photoreceptors (left), retinal pigment epithelial cells (center), and choriocapillaris in the living human eye.

NIH scientists combine technologies to view the retina in unprecedented detail

By combining two imaging modalities—adaptive optics and angiography—investigators at the National Eye Institute (NEI) can see live neurons, epithelial cells, and blood vessels deep in the eye’s light-sensing retina.