The basic structures of sight deciphered
Villigen, 9.3.2011 - Researchers reveal in detail what is happening in the retina during the process of sight During the process of sight, light passes into the eye and triggers a whole series of chemical reactions. At the end of this process, a nerve pulse is generated that carries the visual information to the brain. At the beginning of the process, the light interacts with a protein molecule called Rhodopsin. This molecule contains the actual light sensor that is stimulated by the incoming light and changes its form, in order to trigger the rest of the process. Researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute, together with colleagues from the UK and the USA, have now managed to determine the exact structure of the Rhodopsin molecule in its short-lived, excited state. From this, they have obtained a precise picture of the first step of the process of sight. This result may provide the basis for understanding the hereditary eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa (a group of genetic eye conditions that lead to incurable blindness) and indicate ways of treating it, or of slowing down its progress. Simultaneously, the result provides a foundation for understanding many other processes in the body that are based on a similar mechanism, such as the perception of smells or the control of biological processes by hormones. The research results have been reported in the latest issue of the scientific journal Nature.