Near-sightedness Research

Myopia, or near-sightedness (or short-sightedness), is when eyes can focus on objects close by but vision of far away objects remains blurry.  This condition occurs due to the formation of the eye.

Anyone who reads my main blog Amedeo will know that I'm simply fascinated by the story of The Bounty, William Bligh and Fletcher Christian (link!).  Recently, I wrote a post concerning migraine research among a group of the Bounty mutineer descendents on Norfolk Island.  It seems this genetic pool is also being used for research on near-sightedness!

In an article on The Daily Mail, researchers say that Norfolk Island residents suffer from myopia at half the rate of the general population.  Since this condition is genetic, scientists are looking into the DNA to see what genes are present and absent.  Hopefully, this will shed new light on myopia and potentially lead to new therapies.

Daily Mail Article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2177576/Surprise-Bounty-Mutineers-descendants-lowest-rate-short-sightedness--DNA-hold-key-cure.html