Medical scientists at Johns Hopkins and WUSTL say they've identified a protein that regulates how light-sensing nerve cells form in the retina during the eye's development. Their findings could help scientists better understand how the body's nerve cells develop.

References:

1. March 10, 2009 — Protein Key to Eye Development Identified in the United Press International

and 3 others.

For the millions of baby boomers who will eventually need cataract surgery, here's some cheering news: New types of implantable lenses promise to restore your youthful vision. Unlike the standard single-power lenses doctors have been implanting for 30 years, the newer multifocal intraocular lenses and accommodating lenses allow patients to see near, far, and in between--and even to shed their glasses.
WUSTL ophthalmology professor Jay Pepose talks about one of the options.

References:

1. Dec. 17, 2007 — The Cataracts Are Gone -- and So Is the Need for Glasses in the U.S. News & World Report

A national study released Thursday shows diabetics in Missouri, and especially those in St. Louis, aren't doing such a good job reaching target blood sugar levels.
WUSTL medical professor and diabetes specialist Charles Kilo Sr. is teaming up with Mayor Francis Slay to raise public awareness of what Kilo calls a "major medical crisis and budgetary crisis." Slay has declared next week Diabetes Control Week to encourage diabetics to take steps to better manage their disease.
Kilo pioneered the theory 30 years ago that controlling blood sugar levels could delay or prevent life-threatening complications like heart disease and blindness in diabetics. He and a colleague refuted evidence that the complications resulted from genetics. They proved they're related to the duration of diabetes and the degree of blood sugar control.

References:

1. Sept. 29, 2005 — Report: Most Missouri diabetics at risk for complications in the Associated Press State & Local Wire

and 2 others.

Thanks to recent technological advances, scientists are learning to eavesdrop on the "language" of cells and decipher their "grammar." Much is still unknown, but the research could lead to new treatments for cancer, Parkinson's, epilepsy and many other diseases.
Cells communicate with one another by exchanging tiny chemical messengers called "transmitters" and "transporters." Familiar examples are the hormones adrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, estrogen and testosterone.
WUSTL Center for Genome Sciences director Jeffrey Gordon and WUSTL ophthalmologist Russell Van Gelder comment.

References:

1. July 27, 2005 — Scientists learning to eavesdrop on the language of cells in the Kansas City Star

and 14 others.

Daily eye drops might prevent or delay glaucoma in black Americans at high risk of developing this blinding eye disease, according to a new School of Medicine study. The findings make an urgent case for screening blacks early for warning signs of glaucoma. Open-angle glaucoma affects more than 2 million Americans and is the leading cause of blindness among African-Americans. Michael Kass, M.D., professor of ophthalmology at the School of Medicine, had shown in a previous study that prescription eye drops that lower pressure in the eye could warn off glaucoma in white Americans. The new study is the first to focus on blacks.

References:

1. June 22, 2004 — Weapons in the war on glaucoma in the The New York Times

and 1 others.

"It seems that I've become something of a celebrity in recent years," the Romano-British churchman Patricius observed near the end of his long career, perhaps foreseeing the extravagant emerald mantle that would be wrapped about him by the cult of St. Patrick. In this lively and lucid biography, Philip Freeman, who teaches classics at Washington University in St. Louis, draws on the saint's surviving letters, including the eloquent "Confession," to glean personal details of Patrick's life and fit them into what is known of early Irish history. "Driving the snakes out of Ireland, entering contests to the death with pagan Druids, using the shamrock as an aid to explaining the Trinity -- all these are pious fictions created centuries later by well-meaning monks," Freeman writes. "The true story of Patrick is far more compelling than the medieval legends." Patrick was neither Ireland's first Christian nor the country's first bishop. Patrick apologized for his lack of learning, for writing Latin "as if it were a foreign language," but he enriched his faith by bringing to it a race of stern confessors and exuberant artists.

References:

1. March 15, 2004 — St. Patrick's real life more fascinating than the myths in the The New York Times

and 9 others.