Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Eyes

Cool Finds

Feast Your Eyes on an Optical Illusion Cake

This may be the most delicious optical illusion

What do this cat's pupils say about what it had for dinner?

New Research

How Do Animals Find Food? The Answer’s in Their Eyes

Pupil shape provides differing advantages to those who crave the hunt and those who hide

A SmartSpecs user looks at a magazine; the laptop screen shows his view.

These Glasses Could Help the Blind See

Developed by Oxford scientists, SmartSpecs capture real time images and enhance the contrast for legally blind users

Cool Finds

Men and Women See Things Differently (No, Literally)

Color perception may actually have something to do with gender

New Research

Here’s Why Your Eyes Seem to Be Wired ‘Backward’

Light has to pass through nerve cells to get to the rods and cones, but that order is no mistake

New Research

Too Much Tech Could Be Causing Nearsightedness…But Not in the Way You Might Think

Forget eye strain—too much time indoors could cause myopia

The impact of EnChroma sunglasses: the left shows what a wearer with red-green colorblindness would typically see. The right shows what they see while wearing the sunglasses.

A Scientist Accidentally Developed Sunglasses That Could Correct Color Blindness

The California company EnChroma is creating lenses that allow some to see colors for the first time

New Research

Determine Your Ideal Eyelash Length With Science

How the “one-third rule” protects your eyes

Why the Leatherback Turtle Has a Skylight in its Head

How do animals with poor vision see in dark locales?

Rub the label to see if the food inside is still good to eat.

A Label You Rub To See If Food Has Expired and Other Finalists for the Dyson Award

There’s also a pen that lets you know when you should reapply your sunscreen and a device called Luke Stairwalker

Nope nope nope.

New Research

You Don’t Even Want to Know About All the Stuff Living on Your Eyeball

Even eyes can’t escape the microbiome

New Research

Why You Look Like Your Dog

It’s all in the eyes

Neuroscientist Aaron Seitz argues that training the brain to better adapt to changing eyes is no different than exercising the body to be stronger or faster.

Tech Watch

This New App Promises to Sharpen Your Eyesight

Forget Lasik. A neuroscientist from the University of California Riverside swears that his exercises can improve your vision

The iOptik system pairs a set of unique contact lenses with eyeglasses designed to project digital imagery.

Tech Watch

Will These Augmented-Reality Contact Lenses Replace Your Smartphone?

A little known startup showcases a wearable technology that generates an interactive display right before your eyes

Viewers of this video were asked to count how many times white-shirted players passed the ball. Fifty percent of them didn’t see the woman in the gorilla suit.

But Did You See the Gorilla? The Problem With Inattentional Blindness

The most effective cloaking device is the human mind

None

Sci-fi Contact Lenses Get Closer to Reality

Ishihara Plate 9

Hey, Mr. White, That’s the Wrong Color for That

As hard as you might try, it’s not easy to keep folks from finding out that you’re color-blind

Page 4 of 4