In this time of pandemic, quarantine, and distance learning, perhaps the most important lesson your kids can learn consists of just three little words: blink, blink, blink! The dangers of sending children into school buildings for face-to-face learning are obvious…
Technology is rapidly transforming the practice of medicine as we’ve known it. For one, we’re doing more and more of it from a distance. Even before the pandemic, virtual medical appointments had risen 33% over the previous year, and today,…
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating condition that steals your memory, your personality, and finally, your life. It affects 1 in 10 Americans aged 65 or older, and two-thirds of its victims are women. It kills more people than breast…
Age-related macular degeneration, aka AMD, is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the industrialized world. It affects 11 million people in the U.S. and 170 million globally. We can't cure it, and we don't treat it very successfully, but…
Artificial Photoreceptors Could Save Sight for Millions Remember Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation? Sightless from birth, yet able to see an electromagnetic world, hidden from the rest of us, through a futuristic bionic visor. It’s all…
If you’re diabetic and you’ve had “the talk” with your doctor, you already know your vision is at risk, over time. In fact, diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults. Here are some…
Fun fact: Our tears aren’t just salty water. They’re a precisely mixed cocktail of fatty oils, water, mucous, and more than 1,500 proteins, including, growth factors, antibodies, lipids, and mucins. Together, they form a nourishing film that blankets and protects…
Your eyes may be the windows to your soul, but perhaps more importantly, they’re mirrors offering clear reflections of nearly every organ system in the human body. In fact, an ophthalmic exam can help diagnose more than two dozen types…
There’s a not-so-new genetic technology – in fact, ophthalmologists already use it to reverse an incurable type of blindness called Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) – that may well prove the SARS-CoV-2 magic bullet the world so desperately seeks. It leverages…
Recent studies reveal that lifestyle choices can have a clear and measurable impact on eye health. In fact, they can be nearly as powerful as some of our best medicines. But some surprising choices can actually hurt you, and in…