This set of images (click the image above to enlarge) are optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of retained perfluoro-octane(PFO) droplets after repair of a complicated retinal detachment. PFO is a good surgical tool to help reattach the retina as they force sub retinal fluid out of any retinal tears and helps adhere the retina …
ARVO 2012
Notable Paper: Microglia Sculpt Postnatal Neural Circuits In An Activity And Complement-Dependent Manner
This very cool study by Dorothy P. Schafer, Emily K. Lehrman, Amanda G. Kautzman, Ryuta Koyama, Alan R. Mardinly, Ryo Yamasaki, Richard M. Ransohoff, Michael E. Greenberg, Ben A. Barres and Beth Stevens demonstrates how the immune system can participate in the circuitry of the developing mouse lateral genicular nucleus (LGN). As the immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), microglia are constantly …
Everglades National Park, 2012
ValuJet Memorial
Your Brain Develops The Negative
Instructions: 1. Stare at the gray dot on the woman’s nose for 30 seconds (click on image for larger size). 2. Look quickly at the gray box below (or look at a plain surface like a ceiling or blank wall). 3. Blink repeatedly and quickly. What you should see is a full color representation of …
Venus Transit, 2012
Notable Paper: Age-Related Changes In The Daily Rhythm of Photoreceptor Functioning And Circuitry In A Melatonin-Proficient Mouse Strain
This is an interesting study in PLoS One examining the involvement of melatonin in the retina, particularly in the survival of retinal neurons through aging studies in CH3-f+/+ mice, a melatonin proficient mouse strain. As expected, certain physiological measures (a and b waves) are lost during aging, and in particular, the daily circadian rhythms of those measures. …
Review: Retinal Remodeling
Lobster Eye Design Informs NASA X-Ray Detector
In a classic case of biology informing other areas of science, we have NASA scientists at Goddard Space Flight Center, Scott Barthelmy, Gerry Skinner and Jordan Camp who have built a new X-Ray astronomy instrument inspired by the design of a lobster eye with long, compound ommatidium or eye-elements that capture light from a wide …
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Ft. Jefferson… At Night
Ft. Jefferson
Magnificent Frigate Birds
Iris Changes Complicate Biometric Scans
This is an interesting news article in Nature that describes alterations in the iris in individuals over time. We’ve always been told that irises do not change as we age, but that simply did not make sense to a number of people I’ve spoken with in the past. Certainly there were questions of trauma and …
Green Heron
