Photoreceptor cells in our eyes can adjust to both weak and strong light levels, but we still don't know exactly how they do it. Researchers now revealed that the photoreceptor protein rhodopsin forms ...

This image shows the structure of rhodopsin embedded in a membrane. The red structure in the middle is the retinal chromophore responsible for absorbing visible light. (Image credit: Kiser et al., ...

A new, ultrafast raman spectroscopy method has given researchers a glimpse of the early stages of the vision process. Vision is jump-started by the isomerization of the retinal chromophore in ...

Seeing starts in the rods and cones, two different types of sensory cells in the retina of the eye. The rods are responsible for dark vision and are particularly sensitive to light as a result. A ...

Two new compounds may be able to treat retinitis pigmentosa, a group of inherited eye diseases that cause blindness. The compounds were identified using a virtual screening approach. Two new compounds ...

Scientists have identified two non-retinoid compounds that may be able to treat retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a group of inherited eye diseases that cause blindness. The compounds were discovered by ...

In a new study at University of California, Irvine, researchers have revealed the impact of native lipids on rhodopsin signaling and regeneration, which may usher in a new paradigm for discovery of ...

Any living organism that directly harnesses the sun's energy uses one of three types of energy-converting pigments: chlorophyll, which gives plants their green color, bacteriochlorophyll, or retinal ...