Hate wearing glasses or lenses because you're short-sighted? Well there's good news. British scientists are among a team of experts that has uncovered a genetic link to myopia (short-sightedness). The discovery could mean that in the future myopia will be treated with eye drops or tablets.
Flickr, arvindhsundar
Myopia is the most common eye problem in the world, with a third of people in the UK thought to be affected by it. The condition develops when your retina doesn't focus properly, making objects in the distance look blurred.
Some experts believe there's an explanation for the increase in the number of people suffering from myopia. And that's because these days our eyes are constantly focused on near objects - computer monitors, for instance, or magazines, newspapers and TVs. So we're simply not used to looking at things that are far away.
Writing in the journal Nature Genetics, the scientists revealed how DNA variations of a gene called RASGRF1 are linked with vision errors, and that when they corrected the variations in animals there were changes in the animals' eye lenses.
By studying how these DNA variations affect the way human eyes develop, the researchers reckon they may be able to create drug-based treatments that will give you 20:20 vision.
But don't bin your glasses just yet. The treatments, say the researchers, could be at least ten years away. For now, experts recommending exercising your eyes more by going outdoors and looking at the horizon whenever possible.
So tell us, can you imagine life without glasses or lenses?