Study says video games are good for eyes
4207
SINGAPORE, Feb 7 (Reuters Life!) - Video game addicts,  rejoice: U.S. researchers have found that playing is actually  good for your eyes, and despite all those dire warnings from  your parents, it won't make you blind.
647489
NEW YORK  - Breast-fed children are significantly more likely to do well in measures of stereoscopic vision than are those who received formula during infancy, according to UK researchers.
212663
Using a new algorithm, researchers are trying to enhance picture quality so that those with macular degeneration can enjoy television.
352341
The makers of video games need acknowledge that women like to buy and play games, says a study.
67548
(InfoWorld) - Playing high-action video games for a few hours each day can improve your vision, according to researchers in the U.S. But an eye expert in the U.K. called their findings into question. The researchers from the University of Rochester in New York found that people who play video games for a few hours a day over the course of a month can improve certain aspects of their vision by about 20 percent. Playing the games changes the pathways in the brain responsible for visual processing, as the brain adapts to the additional pressure that playing such games puts on the visual system, they said. The researchers found a group of students who played little or no video games -- which was a challenge in itself -- and gave them a test that measured how well they could discern the orientation of a letter "T" within a crowd of other, distracting symbols. They then divided the students into two groups. One group was told to play the shoot-em-up game "Unreal Tournament" for an hour each day for a month, while a control group played "Tetris," a less visually complex game. After about a month, the students playing the action game could determine the orientation of the "T" much more easily than before, while the Tetris players showed no improvement, the researchers said. The T test measures visual acuity, or the clarity of a person's vision, according to the researchers, who are Daphne Bavelier, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences, and graduate student Shawn Green. That means playing video games should improve your ability to identify letters on a standard eye-test, they said. An optometry expert in the U.K. disagreed, however. The American researchers are confusing visual acuity with visual search, which is what the T test really measures, according to Maggie Woodhouse, a senior lecturer in the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences at Cardiff University. "The test they're using is not for visual acuity," she said after being told of the research. "They've trained their students to make rapid eye movements and to scan large areas to find objects of interest. ... That is visual search." There may indeed be a benefit from playing high-action video games, she said, but it will be in the ability to locate objects in a large or crowded area. That means it could help you pick out a friend's face at a football game, or play a fast-moving sport like ice hockey. The improvement may not last for very long, however, and Woodhouse seemed to consider the overall impact of video games a negative one. Playing for too long can cause eye strain, she said. She also said playing video games "gives you brain damage," although that seemed to be her subjective view rather than a scientific one. The researchers at Rochester University could not immediately be reached for comment. They said the results of their test suggest that people with visual defects could improve their visual acuity with special software that mimics the need to identify objects quickly in an action game. The research is due to appear in next week's Psychological Science journal.
330122
SINGAPORE, Feb 7 (Reuters Life!) - Video game addicts, rejoice: U.S. researchers have found that playing is actually good for your eyes, and despite all those dire warnings from your parents, it won't make you blind.
139009
A new study examining the correlation between study time and GPA scores found that video games (or any other extra-curricular activity) can slightly reduce grade performance.
534094
Two new studies give one more reason to eat a diet rich in fish: prevention of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in old age.
684214
First impressions: Favorite games benefit from high-definition display.
135778
The latest findings from the Australian Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES) suggest that lazy eye, or amblyopia, does not diminish a person's employment prospects.
55029
Using a computer day after day for hours at a time may be linked to the degenerative eye disease glaucoma, Japanese researchers reported in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
25309
God games in which  players must control virtual people could be educational, says research.
195186
A Japanese study suggests heavy computer use may be linked with glaucoma, especially among people who are short sighted. Researchers at Toho University School of Medicine in Tokyo tested the sight of workers
98654
Long periods of time in front of a computer monitor can lead to eye disease, researchers have claimed. Staring at a screen could be related to glaucoma, a condition which if left untreated can lead to blindness, a new study suggests.
668387
(Indianapolis) - Indiana University researchers are trying to find out if playing violent video games can make people more prone to violence.
727895
Boys who play video games on school  days spend 30 percent less time reading and girls spend 34  percent less time doing homework than those who do not play  such games, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
192447
New game platform apparently can respond to emotions and conscious thoughts to move objects on the screen.