Imagine waking to a bright, sunny day, but not really being able to see. Some people go their whole lives without witnessing that vivid red ball from their youth or the facial features of a loved one. Kristina Narfström, a veterinary ophthalmologist at the University of Missouri, is doing research that promises to provide some light at the end of the tunnel.

Narfström is interested in the hereditary blindness that originates in human photoreceptor cells. She studies dogs and cats that contract blinding conditions similar to those found in human beings.

Narfström discusses various treatment measures for blindness. The prevention of photoreceptor death, she says, can be treated with different proteins and vitamins, or new cells may be inserted in the retina to replace the dying cells.