Will We All Be Blind Tomorrow

Shortsightedness is reaching epidemic proportions Some scientists think they have found a reason why East Asia has been gripped by an unprecedented rise in myopia Today up to 90 of Chinese teenagers and young adults are shortsighted Other parts of the world have also seen a dramatic increase in the condition which now affects around half of young adults in the USA and Europe By some estimates the world may count nearly half a billion of blind people in 2050 In severe cases the deformation of the eyeball increases the risk of retinal detachment cataracts glaucoma and even blindness About onefifth of universityaged people in East Asia now have this extreme form of myopia and half of them are expected to develop irreversible vision loss This threat has prompted a rise in research to try to understand the causes of the disorder and scientists are beginning to find answers