No Prescription is Necessary

These glasses offer a low-tech, low-cost, no-doctor solution for poor eyesight.

EYE
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1917: Halifax
A freak explosion tore through the quiet Nova Scotian city, prompting one of the most dramatic medical responses in history.

Blind Spots
Shinobou Ishihara’s tests for color deficiency remain the standard after 100 years.

The Blind Can See
Stem cells, gene therapy and devices that can beam images directly into the brain offer new hope to those without sight.
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INTERNATIONAL
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Two Takes on a Pandemic
Every nation has had its own experience of COVID-19. The stories of Denmark, a model of socialized care, and Rwanda, a bright spot among developing nations, both hold wider lessons for the world.

Chapter 1: In the Path of the Pandemic
A novel coronavirus would come to affect every ward, clinician, researcher and patient at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Your New Job Is …
The new normal meant new tasks to be done. Those jobs were often filled by very unconventional candidates.
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NEUROSCIENCE
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Where Psychedelic Research Goes Next
A new generation of research looks at psilocybin, LSD and other mind-altering drugs. Both the challenges and the therapeutic promise are enormous.

What Makes a Kid Clumsy?
More research into coordination disorders shows why some children are more prone to trip, fumble and spill the milk.

Back From the Brink
Near-death experiences have been the domain of pseudoscience. But clinicians ignore them at their peril.
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TECHNOLOGY
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The 100-Day Vaccine
COVID vaccines happened in record time. Could the next be even more rapid?

From Genome to Pangenome
The reference genome is bracing for its next leap forward. Geneticist Ting Wang wants the process to embrace both science and social equity.

Research Has a “Trash Island.” Some Are Trying to Clean it Up.
Computer-generated nonsense studies and other fake papers find their way into the scientific literature all too often. A few crusading researchers are fighting back.
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Published On July 23, 2009

NO PRESCRIPTION IS NECESSARY FOR A SPECIAL PAIR of eyeglasses called Adspecs. Their sturdy plastic frames encase flexible, oil-filled membranes that change the refractive power of the lens as the wearer pumps oil in or out with a syringe. Pumping oil out draws the membranes together, curving the lens inward and correcting for nearsightedness. When oil is pumped in, the membranes (and lens) bow outward, improving close-range vision. Manufactured for around $19 a pair, Adspecs—short for adaptive spectacles—are a boon in places like sub-Saharan Africa, where there is one optometrist for every million people. With Adspecs, wearers need only an eye chart to fine-tune their vision.

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