Tag

Photoreceptors

All articles tagged with #photoreceptors

science18 days ago•13 min saved

The Crescent That Stays: How a 2017 Eclipse Marked One Woman’s Retina

A Staten Island woman looked at the 2017 eclipse without proper eye protection for about 20 seconds and soon developed a crescent-shaped blind spot in her vision. High-resolution retinal imaging then showed a matching crescent-shaped patch of photoreceptor loss, directly linking the sun’s crescent to the damage; solar retinopathy is caused by irreversible photoreceptor death with no available treatment, underscoring the dangers of viewing an eclipse unprotected.

via Space Daily|

#adaptive-optics #photoreceptors #retina

technology3 months ago•38 min saved

Camera Lets Humans See Colors Beyond Our Spectrum

A high-tech camera system, developed by Vera Vasas and the Hanley Color Lab at George Mason University, records four color channels (blue, green, red, and UV) to render real-time videos of how different animals perceive color, translating photoreceptor data into perceptual units with over 92% accuracy versus traditional methods, and making animal-vision visualization practical for scientists and filmmakers using off-the-shelf cameras in a modular, 3D-printed setup.

via Earth.com|

#animal-vision #color-perception #multispectral-imaging

science5 months ago•5 min saved

A lone ancestral eye gave rise to vertebrate vision, new theory claims

Researchers from the University of Sussex and Lund University propose that vertebrate eyes did not evolve from early paired eyes but were reinvented from a single central photoreceptive organ after ancestral deuterostomes lost their eyes. This organ supposedly integrated both rhabdomeric and ciliary photoreceptors, with the pineal gland as a remaining link to this history. Published in Current Biology, the hypothesis offers testable predictions but still requires firmer evidence.

via Ars Technica|

#eye-evolution #photoreceptors #pineal-gland

science6 months ago•3 min saved

Deep-Sea Larvae Unveil Hybrid Photoreceptors, Redefining Twilight Vision

Researchers have identified a previously unknown photoreceptor in larval deep-sea fish that combines cone-like molecular machinery with rod-like structure, creating a twilight-optimized cell that challenges the long-held view that vertebrate vision relies solely on cones for bright light and rods for darkness. The finding, observed in Maurolicus muelleri and Maurolicus mucronatus larvae, could inform low-light imaging technologies and offer new avenues for understanding human eye conditions such as glaucoma.

via SciTechDaily|

#deep-sea-biology #hybrid-cell #photoreceptors

science6 months ago•3 min saved

Twilight Zone Fish Unveils Hybrid Photoreceptor, Redefining Vision

Researchers studying deep-sea fish larvae in the mesopelagic 'twilight zone' have found a third photoreceptor that blends cone-like molecular machinery with rod-like shape, a hybrid eye that can detect faint light and bioluminescent signals, challenging 150 years of vision theory that sight relies only on rods and cones. The study, led by Dr. Fabio Cortesi and published in Science Advances, suggests vertebrate vision may involve more than the classic two photoreceptor types.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#deep-sea #hybrid-photoreceptor #mesopelagic

science9 months ago•3 min saved

Sea Urchins Have an 'All-Body Brain' That Challenges Evolutionary Ideas

A study reveals that sea urchins possess a complex, brain-like nervous system spread throughout their bodies, including light-sensitive cells, challenging previous notions of their simplicity and offering new insights into nervous system evolution.

via Gizmodo|

#animal-complexity #brain-evolution #nervous-system

health3 years ago•2 min saved

Revolutionary Gene Therapy Offers Hope for Restoring Vision in Retinal Disease Patients.

Scientists in Canada have discovered a way to transform dormant Müller glial cells into tissues that work like cone photoreceptors, which are required for color perception and visual acuity. While the process has only been tested on mice cells, it could eventually be developed into a therapy that can restore vision in people. The process could eventually be adapted to work in humans, without the need to transplant any new cells. The research has been published in PNAS.

via ScienceAlert|

#gene-therapy #health #muller-glial-cells

science3 years ago•2 min saved

Starving Spiders Lose Eyesight, Study Finds.

A new study has found that spiders can lose critical parts of their vision if they go without sustenance for too long, similar to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in humans. Researchers looked at the bold jumping spider and found that when the spiders don't get enough nutrients, the photoreceptors in their eyes can be lost. By understanding more about this, experts might be able to develop improved treatments for AMD. The research has been published in Vision Research.

via ScienceAlert|

#macular-degeneration #nutrition #photoreceptors

science3 years ago•2 min saved

Hunger can blind bold jumping spiders.

Researchers found that undernourished bold jumping spiders begin to lose light-sensitive photoreceptors, causing their vision to decrease. The spiders' degenerating eyesight was initially spotted by one of the researchers' undergraduate students, who noticed that some of the spiders had developed spots on their photoreceptors. The researchers think that this shift in vision could be because photoreceptors require a lot of energy in the form of nutrients to function optimally, and if they don't receive a sufficient energy supply "the system fails." The study could provide insight into the role nutrition plays in human eye diseases such as macular degeneration.

via Livescience.com|

#macular-degeneration #nutrition #photoreceptors

science3 years ago•8 min saved

Uncovering the Mechanisms of Circadian Rhythms

Researchers have revealed the structure of cryptochrome-timeless, a protein complex that plays a key role in the circadian clock. The study sheds light on the mechanisms behind the timing of the body's internal clock and could lead to new treatments for sleep disorders. The researchers used a combination of X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structure of the complex, which is found in both humans and fruit flies.

via Nature.com|

#circadian-clock #cryptochrome #drosophila

health3 years ago•3 min saved

New drug offers hope for childhood blindness.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified Reserpine, an FDA-approved drug used to treat high blood pressure, as a potential treatment for Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 (LCA 10), an inherited retinal disease that can cause severe visual impairment or blindness in early childhood. The drug was found to promote the survival of photoreceptors, the cells that die in LCA, leading to vision loss. Reserpine appeared to partially restore autophagy, resulting in improved primary cilium assembly, and could potentially address retinal ciliopathies caused by many of the more than 160 disease-causing genes, regardless of the specific gene involved, without the need for expensive and labor-intensive gene therapy.

via National Institutes of Health (.gov)|

#fda #gene-therapy #health