eyes

20/20 vision is no longer enough to function in this world. In the latest trend in laser eye surgeries, people are tailoring their eyesight to suit their lifestyle or profession, hoping to give themselves an edge in their respective fields.

Need better long-range vision for some friendly night-time sniping from half a mile away? Tweak it. Want one eye adjusted for distance and the other for reading? Tweak it.

Blindness is the most debilitating of sensory impairments, and also the most vexing to cure. Now, MIT scientists have created a new kind of retinal implant that might help reverse the effects of two common forms of blindness. Drawing on the same principles as the cochlear implants that help the deaf, this implant wouldn't restore vision, but could help the blind navigate through everyday situations.

It's the year 2023 and you're lost in a gigametropolis full of flying cars and robots who have achieved singularity. A guide literally appears before your eyes, giving you enough info about your surroundings to guide you on your way. The computerized contact lenses that Babak Parviz is developing could make this fantasy a reality.

When your head hits the pillow, your eyes still function. "But they can only sense light versus dark," says physician Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist who founded SoundSleepSolutions.com, a sleep-information Web site. This explains why a bright light or the sunrise often wakes a person up.

The brownsnout spookfish is not like other fish.

This deep-sea dweller’s eyes have two segements, one of which, in contrast to all other vertebrates, has mirrors instead of lenses to accurately image its surroundings.

The normal, lens-equipped part [orange globes] sees above the fish; the mirrored part [black dots] sees to the sides and below.

Odd looking? That’s an understatement. But the barrelye, better known as the spookfish, just got its claim to fame. What makes this skinny, sea creature so special? Just look into its eyes. Literally. The spookfish is the first vertebrate discovered to use mirrors for eyes. Instead of using lenses to focus light and create images, the spookfish utilizes reflective mirrors.

Kaleidoscopic holograms like the ones stamped on your credit cards could soon wind up in the eyes of diabetics. Researchers at Smart Holograms in Cambridge, England, have devised a contact lens that changes shape in response to glucose found in tears—a direct indicator of blood sugar.