eyes

A protein in the eye may prevent immune response and protect eyes from disease

Scientists at The Schepens Eye Research Institute have discovered that a protein known as F4/80 found on immune cells in the eye and other parts of the body may have a function in the regulation of the body's immune response and protect delicate tissues that cannot survive the "inflammation" inherent in full-blown immunity. "We believe that this discovery may ultimately help in the develop...

Why Popeye only has eyes for spinach

Eating spinach could protect your eyes from the leading cause of blindness in western society, say experts at The University of Manchester. Spinach and some other vegetab...

Blue eyes -- A clue to paternity

Before you request a paternity test, spend a few minutes looking at your child's eye color. It may just give you the answer you're looking for. According to Bruno Laeng and colleagues, from the University of Tromso, Norway, the human eye color reflects a simple, predictable and reliable genetic pattern of inheritance. Their studies, published this week in the Springer journal Behavioral Ecolog...

Compound eyes, evolutionary ties

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that the presence of a key protein in the compound eyes of the fruit fly (which glow at center due to a fluorescent protein) allows the formation of distinct light gathering units in each of its 800 unit eyes, an evolutionary change to an "open system" that enabled insects to make significant improvements in visual acuity and a...

'The eyes have it' -- Autism research yields surprising results

Autistic children are able to interpret the mental state of others by looking at their eyes, contrary to previous research, a new University of Nottingham study has found. In findings that contradict previous studies, psychologists found that autistic children can ‘read?a stranger’s mental state based on that person’s eyes. Autistic children have long been thought to be poor at interpretin...

Eating with our eyes: Why people eat less at unbused tables

People watching the Super Bowl who saw how much they had already eaten -- in this case, leftover chicken-wing bones -- ate 27 percent less than people who had no such environmental cues, finds a new Cornell study. The difference between the two groups -- those eating at a table where leftover bones accumulated compared with those whose leftovers were removed -- was greater for men than for...

UCLA study uncovers clues for why Graves' disease attacks the eyes

UCLA researchers have uncovered new clues that may explain why Graves?disease (GD) attacks the muscle tissue behind the eyes, often causing them to bulge painfully from their sockets, as in the late actor Marty Feldman. Scientists at UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center discovered defects in the infection-fighting T-cells of GD patients?immune systems. Reported...