Using stem cells derived from human skin cells US researchers have revealed that these can be turned into retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) -- the neurons that conduct visual information from the eye to the brain -- to prevent or cure glaucoma. The study published online in the journal Stem Cells showed that this work has potential implications for treatment of optic-nerve injuries of the types incurred by soldiers in combat or athletes in contact sports. Investigators took skin cells biopsied from volunteers with an inherited form of glaucoma and from volunteers without the disease and genetically reprogrammed them to become
