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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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454 items
Fly head

New light sensing molecule discovered in the fruit fly brain

Six biological pigments called rhodopsins play well-established roles in light-sensing in the fruit fly eye. Three of them also have light-independent roles in temperature sensation.
Grantee News

Preschool Children Face Increasing Vision Problems Over Coming Decades According to USC Roski Eye Institute Research Article in JAMA Ophthalmology

NEI funded research experts at the University of Southern California Roski Eye Institute found that visual impairment in preschool children will increase 26 percent affecting almost 220,000 children over the next 45 years.
blueprint eye

NIH launches competition to develop human eye tissue in a dish

The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has opened the first stage of a federal prize competition designed to generate miniature, lab-grown human retinas.
Corneal section from a person with Fuchs dystrophy shows the presence of ATP1B1 in the corneal endothelium.

NIH-funded team identifies genetic underpinnings of Fuchs dystrophy

An international study of more than 5,417 people helps pinpoint the genetic risk factors associated with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy, the most common disorder requiring corneal transplantation.

NIH-Funded Scientists Home in on Molecular Causes of Secondary Cataract

Four to 12 percent of people undergoing cataract surgery to replace a cloudy lens with a clear artificial one develop posterior capsule opacification (PCO).
Image of a mouse retina

NIH scientists deploy CRISPR to preserve photoreceptors in mice

Silencing a gene called Nrl in mice prevents the loss of cells from degenerative diseases of the retina, according to a new study. The findings could lead to novel therapies for preventing vision loss from human diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa.
Xu Wang with Wai Wong in lab

Breast cancer drug dampens immune response, protecting light-sensing cells of the eye

The breast cancer drug tamoxifen appears to protect light-sensitive cells in the eye from degeneration, according to a new study in mice.
Sequence of five images, spanning 28 days, shows how regeneration happens in the zebrafish retina. Rods are shown in green, regenerating cells are shown in red, and all other cells are labeled with blue. As the rods die, regenerating cells increase and replace the lost rods.

NIH-funded study helps explain how zebrafish recover from blinding injuries

Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, have discovered that in zebrafish, decreased levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) cue the retina, the light-sensing tissue in the back of the eye, to produce stem cells
Grantee News

Fighting Blindness: TSRI Scientists Bring a Key Protein into Focus

NEI-funded scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have discovered how a protein called α2δ4 establishes proper vision.
Picture of Aman George in the lab

NIH scientists identify disorder causing blindness, deafness, albinism and fragile bones

Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have identified the genetic underpinnings of a rare disorder that causes children to be born with deafness, blindness, albinism and fragile bones.

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