http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Research led by a biology professor in the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has uncovered a method to produce retinal cells from regenerative human stem cells without the use of animal products, proteins or other foreign substances, which historically have limited the application of stem cells to treat disease and other human developmental disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-stem-cell-clinical-regenerative-human.html Medical research Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:05:28 EST news282927852 (Medical Xpress)—With every sunrise and sunset, our eyes make note of the light as it waxes and wanes, a process that is critical to aligning our circadian rhythms to match the solar day so we are alert during the day and restful at night. Watching the sun come and go sounds like a peaceful process, but Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that behind the scenes, millions of specialized cells in our eyes are fighting for their lives to help the retina set the stage to keep our internal clocks ticking. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-cell-death-retina-tune-internal.html Neuroscience Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:56:25 EST news281728538 To make information transmission to the brain reliable, the retina first has to "digitize" the image. Until now, it was widely believed that this step takes place in the retinal ganglion cells, the output neurons of the retina. Scientists in the lab of Thomas Euler at the University of Tübingen, the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and the Bernstein Center Tübingen were now able to show that already bipolar cells can generate "digital" signals. At least three types of mouse BC showed clear evidence of fast and stereotypic action potentials, so called "spikes". These results show that the retina is by no means as well understood as is commonly believed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-dogma-bipolar-cells-action-potentials.html Medical research Wed, 19 Dec 2012 09:23:27 EST news275131395 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers from the Université Bordeaux Segalen, France, and their Swedish colleagues have recently demonstrated that constant exposure to blue light is as effective as coffee at improving night drivers' alertness. Based on tests conducted in real driving conditions, the results have been published in the journal PLoS One. They could pave the way for the development of an electronic anti-sleep system to be built into vehicles. Before then, the scientists will be testing this equipment in a broader range of situations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-coffee-blue-night-drivers.html Other Fri, 23 Nov 2012 06:27:19 EST news272874384 For most of history, humans rose with the sun and slept when it set. Enter Thomas Edison, and with a flick of a switch, night became day, enabling us to work, play and post cat and kid photos on Facebook into the wee hours. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-chronic-exposure-night-depression-issues.html Medical research Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:00:13 EST news272112010 (Medical Xpress)—A sudden and mysterious burst of activity originating in the retina of a developing fetus spurs brain connections that are essential to development of finely-tuned sight, Yale researchers report in the journal Nature. Interference with this spontaneous wave of activity could play a role in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, the scientists speculate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-fetal-neural-vision.html Neuroscience Thu, 11 Oct 2012 07:06:30 EST news269157982 Jackson Laboratory researchers have demonstrated that a single, targeted x-ray treatment of an individual eye in young, glaucoma-prone mice provided that eye with apparently life-long and typically complete protection from glaucoma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-x-ray-treatment-mice-glaucoma.html Ophthalmology Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:00:08 EST news251374828 A new study identifies specific cell-stress signaling pathways that link injury of the optic nerve with irreversible vision loss. The research, published by Cell Press in the February 9 issue of the journal Neuron, may lead to new strategies that will help to protect vulnerable neurons in the retina after optic nerve damage and diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-stress-pathway-potential-therapeutic-vision.html Neuroscience Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:00:01 EST news247918616