The USDA has presented the Delaware Industries for the Blind (DIB) an award for providing the Food Safety and Inspection Service high quality goods and services in a professional and responsive manner. In a ceremony held June 25, 2008 in the Jamie L. Whitten Building in Washington, a plaque was presented to DIB representatives LaKeesha Briscoe and Evelyn Haley by USDA Secretary Ed Schafer.

With a growing threat of blindness from glaucoma looming, "finding a cure or therapies that can avert this threat is simply not an urgent national imperative," reports Allen Poirson, PhD, the new Director of Scientific Programs and Licensing for the Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF), previewing the results of his "Glaucoma Research and Development Efforts" (GRaDE) as the Daniel Scott Weston Glaucoma Research Lecturer of GRF's Silicon Valley chapter fall event.

Too many Americans are not paying enough attention to their eyesight and overall eye health, according to a new survey by the American Optometric Association (AOA). The AOA's 2008 American Eye-Q® survey, which assesses public knowledge and understanding of a wide range of issues related to eye and visual health, showed that most Americans - 81 percent of respondents - wear contact lenses, eyeglasses or both.

A new National Eye Health Epidemiological Model (NEHEM) will, for the first time, make data on the prevalence of four common eye conditions freely available. The model will be launched today and will be invaluable to those involved in the commissioning and provision of local eye care services in the UK. NEHEM has been developed by the Public Health Action Support Team (PHAST) at Imperial College, London.

Scientists have used a technique originally developed for economic study to become the first to overcome a significant challenge in brain research: determining the flow of information from one part of the brain to another. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Florida Atlantic University report the new capability in The Journal of Neuroscience.