Retinas in newborn mice appear perfectly fine without any help from tiny bits of genetic material called microRNAs except for one thing — the retinas do not work.

In a clinical trial at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, researchers from The University of Pennsylvania have used gene therapy to safely restore vision in three young adults with a rare form of congenital blindness. Although the patients have not achieved normal eyesight, the preliminary results set the stage for further studies of an innovative treatment for this and possibly other retinal diseases.

Harvard University researchers have discovered a new type of retinal cell that plays an exclusive and unusual role in mice: detecting upward motion. The cells reflect their function in the physical arrangement of their dendrites, branch-like structures on neuronal cells that form a communicative network with other dendrites and neurons in the brain.

Drawing blood from a fruit fly may only be slightly easier than getting it from a proverbial stone or turnip, but success could provide substantial benefits for neuroscientists.

Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute have discovered what chemical in the eye triggers the dormant capacity of certain non-neuronal cells to transform into progenitor cells, a stem-like cell that can generate new retinal cells.

USC and Second Sight Medical Products Inc, leading developers of retinal prostheses for treating blindness, announced today that they have completed enrollment of the first phase of a U.S .FDA approved clinical study of the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System. They also announced that enrollment at key European sites is underway as studies continue in Mexico.

Scientists and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are discussing how new technologies in ophthalmology, which make it possible to collect better data about experimental treatments, might affect FDA clinical trials requirements.

Two transporters that deliver alternative energy sources to the eye may help delay retinal damage that can occur in diabetes, researchers say.

Mutant mice could provide genetic clues to understanding incurable human sight loss resulting from retinal degeneration. Research published in the online open access journal Genome Biology uncovers a role for microRNA in retinal disease, and may point the way to future therapies.

All vision, including reading this sentence, depends on a constant series of infinitesimal jumps by the eyeball that centers the retina on target objects—words or phrases in the case of reading.

Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, have discovered a simple and inexpensive way for patients with retinal and other eye disease to keep track of changes in their vision loss.

Homocysteine, an amino acid believed to contribute to heart attack, stroke and dementia, likely also is a player in retinal damage and vision loss, researchers say.