Introduction
Welcome to Edition 10 of Gonz Blinko's Blind News Digest. This edition has 39 stories about blind people and blindness from all over the world. We're certain you will find articles that you think are interesting, informative and, in some cases, funny.
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Editorial By Chris Hofstader
This is the largest edition of Gonz Blinko's Blind News digest with 55 articles about all aspects of blindness from all parts of the world. As usual, our science and medicine section is the largest as that seems like the topic related to blindness that the mainstream media finds most interesting. I'm learning a lot about the science of blindness by editing this digest and hope you find these stories interesting as well.
We also have articles about braille, technology, sports, art and artists and much more.
The articles are categorized as best I can. Some articles don't fit a specific category so I do my best to find a place for it or start another category. In this and all editions of the digest, categoriesare at heading level two and articles are links at heading level three.
I hope you enjoy this edition.
Braille
Hawaii inmates at Saguaro transcribe braille for vision impaired school children
Hawaii student-inmates at CoreCivic’s Saguaro Correctional Center are transcribing braille for school children who are impacted by blindness or visual impairment through a course offered by the Foundation for Blind Children. This story came to us from: Maui Now.
Seeing with fingertips
Believing in this sense of touch, Louis Braille, a 19th-century Frenchman who was blind himself, developed a system of six raised dots on paper that enabled blind people to read and write. This story came to us from: Himal Mag.
Science and Medicine
Lessons from blindness
One day in 2017, Bruni woke up to find something wrong with an eye. He could barely see anything in that eye. Reading and driving became problematic. Doctors told him a stroke had destroyed the nerves that connected the eye and the brain. This story is from: dailyadvance.com.
[The Man Who Tasted Words' forces readers to question their reality][
The Man Who Tasted Words is a deep dive into the world of our senses — one that explores the way they shape our reality and what happens when something malfunctions or functions differently. This story came to us from: Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Innovative eye surgery saving tens of thousands of Israelis from blindness
An innovative endoscopic procedure that catheterizes the drainage system of the eye is saving patients from blindness. This story came to us from: Israel Hayom.
LED contact lens treatment may prevent diabetes-related blindness
If diabetes progresses too far, it can result in a potentially blinding condition known as retinopathy. And while existing treatments are invasive and often painful, there may be new hope in the form of an LED-equipped contact lens. This story came to us from: New Atlas.
How the antidepressant Prozac could treat blindness
Normally, it takes years before a new drug can be approved for human testing. However, there are already millions of Americans taking Prozac. This story came to us from: Freethink.
New medicine approved to treat two leading causes of blindness
Millions of people in the United States live with eye conditions that can cause blindness if left untreated. This story came to us from: WPMI.
A patient with failing eyesight feared seeing his last sunset. Treatment changed that
The author shares what it is like treating those with night blindness, cataract and glaucoma as well as a story about a teacher patient of his at the National University Hospital. This story came to us from: TODAY.
Night blindness: Symptoms, causes, preventive tips and treatment of nyctalopia
According to Medicover Hospitals, “Night blindness, also known as nyctalopia, is a condition that means your eyes are unable to adapt to low light conditions. This story came to us from: Hindustan Times.
Wet AMD and Vision Loss: Your FAQs
While wet AMD may increase your risk of vision loss and blindness, early detection and treatment can help decrease such complications. This story came to us from: Healthline.
Sound can stimulate blind retina to transmit signals to the brain via an ultrasonic retinal prosthesis
Retinal degenerative diseases, caused by progressive degeneration of the light-sensitive photoreceptors in the retina, is one of the major causes of vision loss and blindness, affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. This story came to us from: Medical Xpress.
Faricimab noninferior to aflibercept for treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration
faricimab was demonstrated to be non-inferior to aflibercept at improving visual acuity in neovascular age-related macular degeneration. This story came to us from: 2 Minute Medicine.
Watch out for these signs of glaucoma that can cause vision loss and blindness risk in children
While more common in adults, glaucoma – a group of eye diseases that can cause vision loss and blindness – can also affect infants and children. This story came to us from: IBTimes India.
HMC offers advanced treatment methods for glaucoma
Early detection and careful lifelong treatment can maintain vision in most people and its the best preventive method from blindness. This story comes to us from: The Peninsula Qatar.
Glaucoma: Cause, symptoms, treatment and prevention
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can cause vision loss and blindness. This story came to us from: Verve times.
'Early diagnosis of glaucoma can prevent vision impairment
More than 4 million people across the globe are blind because of glaucoma, making it the third highest cause of blindness worldwide. This story came to us from: The News International.
How light therapy sleep mask is saving diabetics' eyesight
The Sedgefield-based business has developed a patented non-invasive treatment for diabetic retinopathy, a condition considered the leading cause of preventable blindness among working-age individuals in the Western world. This story came to us from: BusinessCloud.
The future of glaucoma detection and monitoring
Glaucoma affects an estimated 300,000 Australians but half of them don’t know it. Early detection is considered vital. This story came to us from: Insight.
Wipro and Pandorum join hands to develop regenerative medicine with AI
Wipro and Pandorum join hands to develop regenerative medicine with AI … unmet clinical needs, such as corneal blindness and liver diseases. This story is from: Analytics India Magazine.
Orbis Celebrates 40 Years of Innovation to Fight Avoidable Blindness
The eye care nonprofit has continually harnessed the power of innovation to reach new heights in the fight against avoidable blindness. This story came to us from: Metropolitan Airport News.
Italy glaucoma risk for 1.2 million, only half knows
The disease is “the second leading cause of blindness in the world” and is particularly insidious, “because it has no early symptoms in most cases. This story came to us from: SparkChronicles.
UArizona engineer leads project to fight vision loss
According to data published by The Lancet Global Health every year, Corneal ulcers cause blindness and visual impairment in 4.3 million people. This story came to us from: KGUN 9.
Bionic eyes:How tech is replacing lost vision
The creation of bionic eyes, as a result of recent advances in science and technology, are restoring hope to many who are unable to see or are partially sighted due to injury, illness or genetics. This story comes to us from: Live Science.
Ray of hope to treat corneal blindness
Scientists from CCMB, LVPEI and IIT-H develop biomimetic corneal hydrogel, which can be used to treat corneal scarring. This story is from: Telangana Today.
Technology
Dot Inc. releases braille display compatible with iPhones
Beyond speech or literary braille, these users can now feel and improve their understanding of images. This story came to us from: MobiHealthNews.
Unitil : Improves Web Experience for Visually Impaired
Unitil, (unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to New England customers, has taken steps to improve the accessibility of its website for users with visual impairments. This story came to us from: MarketScreener.
Twitter is testing changes to make image descriptions easier to access
Twitter has announced that it’s testing new accessibility features to make alt text descriptions significantly more useful and prominent for everyone on the platform. With the change, images that have descriptions will be given a badge that saysalt,” and clicking on that badge will show the description. The change has been a long time coming, but that’s not necessarily a surprise. This story came to us from: The Verge.
Dot Pad tactile display makes images touchable for visually impaired
Braille is widely used by people with vision impairments, but despite widespread improvements to accessibility on the web and smart devices, innovation for braille-reader hardware has essentially been stalled. Dot has taken a huge step forward with a smart braille device that not only allows for easy display of text, but tactile representations of imagery, potentially opening an entirely new layer for education and accessible content. This story came to us from: TechCrunch.
How to Stop Your iPhone Camera From Recognizing Text Everywhere
If the Live Text feature on you iPhone is actively annoying you, here's how to disable it. This story is from: Life Hacker.
Safety
Cambridge pavement parking issue leaves blind woman worried to leave the house
A blind woman says she sometimes avoids going out and has to walk on busy roads because of cars parked on the pavement. This story comes to us from: ITV.
Women
This is another new section for the digest as this is the first article specific to women that we've gotten in the 11 weeks we've been making the digest.
International Women's Day: Women more likely to go blind as compared to men
There has been a higher prevalence of uncorrected visual impairment or blindness in women. This story came to us from: Firstpost. :
Blind woman who fought for rights during pandemic is up for an award
A Narborough woman who campaigned for the rights of blind people to get information they can understand is up for an award. This story comes to us from: Leicester Mercury.
Blindness Organizations
As the Winn-Dixie Saga Finally Concludes in Florida, 181 Advocacy Groups Urge DOJ to Issue Website Accessibility Regulations
The Eleventh Circuit has refused to reconsider its decision to vacate its prior order and the trial court’s judgment because of mootness; while disability rights advocates demand regulatory action from DOJ. This story comes to us from: JD Supra.
Lighthouse Works Adds New Board Member
Competitive job opportunities for blind and visually impaired adults, … work for people living with visual impairments. This story comes to us from: West Orlando News.
One-week-long Glaucoma awareness drive at Doon Hosp
"Glaucoma blindness is loss of visual field rather than vision loss. It is the second leading cause of blindness and requires urgent attention. This story came to us from: Times of India.
Helping raise glaucoma awareness
Prompt diagnosis and treatment can help cause irreversible blindness. Know your risk factors. This story came to us from: Antelope Valley Press.
Caltanissetta. The Italian Blind Union promotes eye checks to combat glaucoma
The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness IAPB Onlus, in collaboration with the Territorial Section of Caltanissetta of the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired, has organized in the Nisseno area, initiatives related to the celebration of World Glaucoma Week, promoting eye checks and scientific information activity for the fight against glaucoma, a subtle pathology known as the “silent thief of sight”. This story came to us from: D1 Softball News.
Workplace Technology: Acknowledgements
Individuals who are blind have little or no functional vision and typically require screen reader software and/or braille to access written content. This story came to us from: American Foundation for the Blind.
Reports / State Services for the Blind
State Services for the Blind (SSB) measures customer satisfaction with Adjustment to Blindness (ATB) training and training providers. This story came to us from: Minnesota.gov.
Crime
[Judge orders prison for blind man who participated in Auckland woman's brutal killing][
A blind and intellectually disabled West Auckland man who was recently diagnosed with incurable cancer has been sentenced to six years and seven months' prison for his participation in the brutal beating and stabbing death of a neighbour two years ago. This story came to us from: Newstalk ZB.
Boss accused of defrauding blind workers' pensions
The Pensions Regulator is investigating whether the owner of one of the UK's oldest social enterprises fraudulently failed to make disabled workers' pension contributions. This story came to us from: yahoo.
Discrimination and Inaccessibility
People with disabilities left behind by telemedicine and other pandemic medical innovations
A 35-year-old deaf-blind woman in Orlando, Florida, has had two telemedicine doctors' appointments during the pandemic. Each time, she was denied an interpreter. Her doctors told her she would have to get insurance to pay for an interpreter, which is incorrect: Under federal law. This story came to us from: CNN.
Legal
Blind Chicago Resident Class Proceeds in Crosswalk Access Suit
The suit seeks declarative and injunctive relief for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. This story comes to us from: Bloomberg Law.
Class Action Alleges P.C. Richard & Son Website Is Inaccessible to Blind Users
P.C. Richard & Son faces a lawsuit that alleges the retailer has unlawfully failed to make its website fully and equally accessible to visually impaired consumers. This story comes to us from: ClassAction.org.
Art and Artists
Darkness Visible: the predicament of blind writers and artists
Many unusually intelligent and articulate painters and writers have described the gradual or abrupt deterioration of their vision, and gave sighted people a greater understanding of the blind. This story came to us from: TheArticle.
Madeleine's mission to promote blind artists
Just because you are blind, it does not mean the end of creative endeavours. This story came to us from: Australian Jewish News.
Blind Arvella Gray
Blind man singing on the streets. It almost sounds as if it would be outlawed or long extinct by 1972. This story came to us from: Chicago Reader.
[Utah museum offers descriptive audio tours for blind visitors][
Everett Bacon with the National Federation of the Blind of Utah says the app Aira, gives him the opportunity to explore on his own.
" This story came to us from: abc4.
Sports
Augusta University golfer Dawson Booth overcomes blindness in one eye
Brock Hoover had played golf with his Augusta University teammate and roommate Dawson Booth roughly 10 times before realizing that Booth was blind in one eye. Hoover had gone in for a routine fist-bump and had to call out “Dawson!” to get his attention. This story is from: Golfweek – USA Today.
Athletes with disabilities aren't 'inspiring,' we are fortunate to overcome barriers
In recent years, while writing my blind sports encyclopedia, I was amazed how thoroughly the lives of disabled people had been transformed. This story came from: Dallas Morning News.
Breaking The Mould! Madhya Pradesh's First Blind Women's Cricket Team Aims To Soar High
While we are aware of the Indian Women Cricket Team's successful run over time, the Blind Women's Cricket is gaining momentum in India. This story comes to us from: The Logical Indian.
Fearless blind teen smashes it on the Rugged Maniac obstacle course
Levi Gobin of Sarasota, Florida, is blind and partially deaf. But that didn't stop him from competing in the Rugged Maniac extreme obstacle race. This story came from: USA Today.
Rochester man finds purpose in martial arts, despite being blind
DeVaughn Smith walked away from a life of gang violence to pursue his dream of competing in martial arts tournaments, all while being blind. This story came to us from: Park Rapids Enterprise.
Paralympics: Blind skier Ariyasu and guide are a team with one goal
"We're a team that shares a common goal and works together to achieve that," said Ariyasu, who finished 16th in the men's sprint free technique qualifying held at Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre on Wednesday, failing to advance to the final round. This story came to us from: Kyodo News.
Rochester man finds purpose in martial arts, despite being blind
DeVaughn Smith walked away from a life of gang violence to pursue his dream. This story came to us from: Park Rapids Enterprise.
Bristol lorry driver and cricket fan goes viral after 'commentating' for blind fan
A lorry driver from Bristol has gone viral on social media after helping assist a blind man for a couple of hours every day throughout the week. Avid cricket fan Rich 'Tiny' Nicholls from Bristol personally commentated on England's first cricket test against the West Indies to blind supporter Martin Lloyd. This story came to us from: Bristol Post.
Do you know the Paralympic cross-country skiing can be completed while seated?
The competition is open to athletes with physical impairment and blindness or vision impairment. Depending on functional impairment, a competitor may use a sit-ski, a chair equipped with a pair of skis. This story came to us from: Global Times.
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