Interesting paper: Characterization Of Neurite Outgrowth And Ectopic Synaptogenesis In Response To Photoreceptor Dysfunction

Authors Stylianos Michalakis, Karin Schäferhoff, Isabella Spiwoks-Becker, Nawal Zabouri, Susanne Koch, Fred Koch, Michael Bonin, Martin Biel, and Silke Haverkamp have a new paper out that looks at the earliest gene microarray analysis results associated with neurite outgrowth in the degenerate retina.  The title is a overly broad, but the results focusing on gene expression changes …

What Do Whales See?

This beautiful article in The Atlantic by Alexis Madrigal talks about the eyes of cetaceans or whales and has some beautiful imagery from photographer Bryant Austin.  More importantly, the article asks: “So, what does the world look like to a whale?” which is a fundamental question in comparative anatomy. The really unusual thing about this article …

Interesting Paper: Precedence Of The Eye Region In Neural Processing Of Faces

Just seeing an eye… and only the eye is enough to establish the first components of neural facial recognition.  In this interesting paper by Elias B. Issa and James J. DiCarlo, the authors found using a combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that the first stage in the primate visual/face processing circuitry is tuned …

Silicone Oil In Anterior Chamber

This image shows a slit lamp retro-illumination photograph through dilated pupil revealing silicone oil in anterior chamber following retinal re-attachment surgery.  Silicone oil is a commonly used approach for retinal tamponade during surgery in the vitreous or for retinal reattachment surgery.  While the silicone does assist with successful reattachment, often it causes optical complications resulting …