New Discovery: Starfish Sees with Primitive Eye at Tip of Its Arms

"A study has shown for the first time that starfish use primitive eyes at the tip of their arms to visually navigate their environment. Research headed by Dr. Anders Garm at the Marine Biological Section of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, showed that starfish eyes are image-forming and could be an essential stage in eye evolution," according to Medical News Today. "The researchers removed starfish with and without eyes from their food rich habitat, the coral reef, and placed them on the sand bottom one metre away, where they would starve. They monitored the starfishes' behaviour from the surface and found that while starfish with intact eyes head towards the direction of the reef, starfish without eyes walk randomly." Read more.

Cause of a Widespread Eye Disease Found by Young Scientist

Branch retinal vein occlusion -- blockage of the blood vessels that channel blood from the retina -- is a common eye disease. A type of blood clot in the eye, the disease causes reduced vision, and people with the disease also typically have an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes and other serious conditions. A young scientist from the University of Copenhagen has made a significant contribution to finding the cause of the disease," notes Science Daily. "A team of researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Glostrup Hospital and several other ophthalmology departments at Danish hospitals have now shown that it is highly probable that thickening of the arterial walls is behind the common eye disease known as branch retinal vein occlusion -- a type of blood clot in the eye that blocks the vessels that transport blood from the retina. The disease leads to reduced vision and affects more than 14 million people worldwide." Read more.