Week in review: Predatory pupils, nanopowered vision, Ebola upshots

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

Predatory fish like Scorpaena plumieri (above) have a pear-shaped pupil with a lens that operates differently than the spherical lenses of other fish. During accommodation, the pupil’s odd shape allows the lens to move forward so that images can traverse the lens edge and strike a peripheral fovea. Check out the other odd features of the Scorpionfish’s predatory pupil in the March issue. Ophthalmology

A stem cell therapy for corneal disease is nearing human trials in Japan, the Times reports. The nation’s health ministry has conditionally approved plans to transplant corneal tissue produced from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into 4 adults with corneal epithelial stem cell deficiency. Assuming Osaka University researchers provide the additional documentation requested by the health ministry, the first patient could be treated as early as June. The Japan Times

These mice gained infrared vision after a subretinal injection of self-powered “nanoantenna.” The nanoparticles bind to photoreceptors and act as miniature energy transducers that—within 5 weeks—extend the mammalian visual spectrum to the near-infrared range. This could serve as the basis for human “super vision” as well as fixing red color blindness, senior author Tian Xue told New Scientist. Cell

Survivors of Liberia’s Ebola epidemic face an elevated risk of uveitis, according to first-year findings from an ongoing study. “This study highlights how crucial ophthalmic care is to the care of Ebola survivors,” said investigator Rachel J. Bishop, MD, MPH, chief of Consult Services at the National Eye Institute.  Interestingly, Ebola survivors did not have a higher risk of cataracts or declining vision. National Institutes of Health

A pair of phase 3 trials will assess the safety and efficacy of faricimab, a bispecific molecule that targets both angiopoietin-2 and VEGF-A in people with wet AMD. Roche and Genentech designed the identical trials, TENAYA and LUCERNE, to determine if 16-week dosing intervals with faricimab performs as well as aflibercept given every 8 weeks. Investigators will assess changes in BCVA at 48 weeks. Roche/Genentech