Features
The Bionic Eye
Various Researchers | Oct 1, 2014 | 10+ min read
Using the latest technologies, researchers are constructing novel prosthetic devices to restore vision in the blind.
The Rainbow Connection
Kerry Grens | Oct 1, 2014 | 10+ min read
Color vision as we know it resulted from one fortuitous genetic event after another.
Setting the Record Straight
Daniel Cossins | Oct 1, 2014 | 10+ min read
Scientists are taking to social media to challenge weak research, share replication attempts in real time, and counteract hype. Will this online discourse enrich the scientific process?
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the October 2014 issue of The Scientist.
Editorial
Eye Spies
Eye Spies
An issue highlighting advances in vision research
Speaking of Science
Speaking of Vision Science
Speaking of Vision Science
October 2014's selection of notable quotes
Notebook
Visualizing the Vibe
Visualizing the Vibe
Retrieving sound from video recordings of inanimate objects can have surprising applications.
One Fish, Two Fish
One Fish, Two Fish
Despite a lack of vision, a blind cavefish can count. Sort of.
Keeping Track
Keeping Track
New software that can trace the individual paths of every animal in a massive swarm could help biologists unravel the secrets of collective behavior.
Predator Demoted
Predator Demoted
Extinct, giant arthropods, long assumed to be top predators of ancient seas, didn’t have sharp enough eyesight to be refined hunters.
Critic at Large
Science Gone Social
Science Gone Social
Scientists are beginning to embrace social media as a viable means of communicating with public audiences.
Online First
The Ocular Microbiome
The Ocular Microbiome
Researchers are beginning to study in depth the largely uncharted territory of the eye’s microbial composition.
Modus Operandi
Retina Recordings
Retina Recordings
Scientists adapt an in vivo retina recorder for ex vivo use.
Multimedia
The Eye
The Eye
An overview of visual processing
The Literature
Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Retinal glial cells acting as optical fibers shuttle longer wavelengths of light to individual cones.
Cone Cell Correctors
Cone Cell Correctors
In mice, adult cone cell outer segments and their visual functions deteriorate if two microRNAs are not present.
Sound and Light Show
Sound and Light Show
Sounds trigger a response in the visual cortex that predicts how accurately a person can identify a visual target.
Profiles
An Eye for Detail
An Eye for Detail
Vision researcher John Dowling has spent a lifetime studying the neural architecture of the retina. He is closing his laboratory after 53 years, opting to extend these studies as a postdoc.
Scientist to Watch
Joeanna Arthur: Charting a Path
Joeanna Arthur: Charting a Path
Project Scientist, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Age: 32
Lab Tools
Capturing Complexes
Capturing Complexes
Techniques for analyzing RNA-protein interactions
Nuclear Cartography
Nuclear Cartography
Techniques for mapping chromosome conformation
Bio Business
Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the Prize
A handful of stem cell therapeutics for vision disorders are showing promise in early-stage trials, and still more are in development. But there’s a long road to travel before patients see real benefit.
Reading Frames
Sleep Tight
Sleep Tight
Bed bugs are but one example of a species whose populations have evolved in response to human behavior.
Foundations
A Visionary’s Poor Vision, 1685
A Visionary’s Poor Vision, 1685
William Briggs’s theory of optic nerve architecture was unusual and incorrect, but years later it led to Isaac Newton’s explanation of binocular vision.