The Faculty of 1000 is a Web-based literature awareness tool published by BioMed Central. It provides a continuously updated insider's guide to the most important peer-reviewed papers within a range of research fields, based on the recommendations of a faculty of more than 1,400 leading researchers.

Each issue, The Scientist publishes a review of some related papers highlighted by the Faculty of 1000, plus comments on new and notable research. For more information visit www.facultyof1000.com.





The retina can adjust to a remarkably wide range of illumination; from starlight to sunlight, natural light intensity varies more than 11 orders of magnitude. Rods and cones, the cells that translate light signals into a neural response, use multiple molecular mechanisms to prevent them from becoming blinded as light intensities increase throughout the day.

Recent work on rats from Vadim Arshavsky, associate professor of ophthalmology, Harvard University, and his colleagues have revealed...

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