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Finding the genome’s blind spot
A long-missing genetic explanation for inherited vision loss Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic eye disorder affecting around one in 5,000 people worldwide. It typically begins with night blindness in youth and progresses to tunnel vision as daylight-sensing photoreceptor cells in the retina gradually die, potentially leading to blindness over…
Botond Roska and José-Alain Sahel win the Wolf Prize 2024 in the field of medicine
The Wolf Prize, considered one of the most prestigious international awards, recognizes outstanding achievements in various fields including medicine. Botond Roska, Director at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB) and Professor at the University of Basel, and José-Alain Sahel, Chair of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh…
IOB’s first spinout: RhyGaze AG
RhyGaze AG, a Spinout from the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), to advance groundbreaking gene therapy for treating blindness RhyGaze AG, a spinout from IOB, is developing a novel gene therapy that targets cone cells to restore vision in patients suffering from diseases causing blindness BGV and Novartis…
IOB scientists solve a 50-year-old vision mystery
In a groundbreaking study published today in Neuron, IOB scientists have identified a surprisingly simple and novel mechanism that regulates how our eyes process visual information at the very first step of seeing. The study focuses on the intricate communication between two types of cells in the retina: photoreceptors (specifically cones)…
Rewriting genes to preserve eyesight
Breakthrough gene editing technique offers hope for Stargardt disease patients https://live-iob-basel.pantheonsite.io/app/uploads/2025/12/MOVIE_STARGARDT_Jan-2025.mp4 Researchers have developed a highly efficient gene editing therapy that could potentially treat Stargardt disease, the most common form of inherited macular degeneration. This groundbreaking study, published in Nature Medicine on 8 January 2025, demonstrates the therapeutic use of a precision…
The secret behind sharp vision
New research reveals the benefits of tiny eye movements Even when we think we are holding our gaze perfectly still, our eyes make tiny, involuntary movements. While these “fixational eye movements” might seem like they would blur our vision, new research reveals they actually help us see fine details more…
The eye’s secret clockwork
Perception depends not only on what we see, but also on when we see it. Signals initiated by light-sensitive cells in the retina travel through nerve fibers of varying lengths before converging at the optic nerve and continuing to the brain. Even neighboring cells in the central retina can transmit…
IOB brings major European grant to Basel for gene therapies against vision loss
After several years of interruption, ERC Consolidator calls reopened this year to researchers in Switzerland, and Bence György’s proposal was selected among 3121 applications from across Europe. Researchers who receive ERC grants are considered among the strongest in their fields. The ERC grant provides around EUR 2 million over five…
IOB’s first spinout RhyGaze receives major funding
Funding enables progress of RhyGaze lead asset through early clinical trials Led by GV, series participants included Arch Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital and RhyGaze founding investors BioGeneration Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund RhyGaze, a biotechnology company based in Basel, Switzerland and Philadelphia, Pa., USA, today announced that it has secured…
Roska group researchers find: When unconscious, the brain is anything but ‘silent’
Imaging from individual cell types in the mouse cortex, and comparing their activity while awake and anesthetized, the authors find that only layer 5 pyramidal neurons show synchronous activity. Basel, May 12, 2022The cerebral cortex is thought to be the seat of conscious processing in the brain. Rather than being…