AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE HUMAN EYES.

Amazing facts you should know about the eyes.

The eye is one of the most vital organs of the body . It is the most complex organ after the brain.

There are so many things about the eyes we don’t know . The eye is the most sophisticated organ of vision that has been so far in organisms.Over the years, there are still some many things to know and study about the eyes- the light of our body.

__ The brain plays a major role in the complex world of the human vision . The human eyes are inverted and this means that we see things upside down. It is the brain that turns the images the right way up after a series of connections and transmissions.

photo credit-- Suren Manvelyan

__The human eye has 40 separate components. Each component is marvellously complex . Some talk about the evolution of the eyes,Charles Darwin considered the evolution of the human eye one  the toughest problems his theory had to explain. In “On the Origin of Species,” he wrote that the idea that natural selection could produce such an intricate organ “seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree.”

__For the eyes to see, all the basic components must be present at the same time to work together perfectly. So , without a basic part of the eyes, the eyes will not work as it ought to. 

Let’s consider some other distinct things about the eyes:

1. The eye has more than two million working parts in order for it to work perfectly well.

2. The eye is actually bigger than we think, only about 1/6 of the eyball is exposed.

3. The cornea (the transparent outermost layer of the Irish and pupil) is the only tissue that doesn’t require blood and they actually contain no blood . This is because for light to be refracted perfectly, the cornea must be clear , so that there’s no interference with the process.

4. The eyelashes remain on the eyelids for about 5 months and new ones grow again. The total eyelashes shed by a human in a lifetime will be about 98 feet on average!

5. The images we see form about 80% of our memories. But for those who were born blind, their memory is totally different.

6. The Iris has about 256 unique characteristics while the fingerprint has just about 40. That is why retumal scanners are used in high security facilities. Even identical twins don’t have the same eye configuration. The eye is also capable of seeing at a resolution of 576 mega pixels!

7. We have two eyeballs in order to have deep perception- comparing images help us to determine how far an object is from you.

8. The eyes can distinguish approximately ten million different colours.

9. Heterochromia – is the medical terminology for having 2 different coloured eyes 

10. At birth , babies can only see white, black and sine shades of gray  because not all nerve cells in their retina are fully developed. However, in not more than two weeks time , they can see things in colour.

11. As we get older , we slowly Lise the ability to focus with our lenses. More of the world’s population will need reading glasses from 40 years upward .

12. Astigmatism is usually not a serious problem. It refers to a curvature of  the lens  or cornea. We use Toric lenses( a special type of eyeglasses with cylindrical lenses).

13. An astronaut cannot shed tears in space . Due to lack of gravity in space , tears do not fall , the eyes only form balls that sting the eyes 

14. There are colours that the eyes cannot comprehend because they are outside the 3 types of cone cells in retina . Those colours are called “impossible colours”.

15. Creamy or liquid eye makeup become breeding grounds for bacteria that may result in eye infections . You also should not share eye makeup toavoid contacting eye germs from others .

16. The eyes are sensitive to perceived dangers and so they automatically close up when there is bright light or an object is too close.

17. Tears keep our eyes clean and moist. Dirts and dust are washed away when tears flow from the eyes . The eyes are protected because the tears are filled with antibodies that fight infections.

18. The eyes work just like a camera  . The eyes focus light onto the retina just as he lens of a camera focuses light on to a photosensitive surface .

19. More of the world’s population has brown eyes.Eye colour us determined by genetics because it determines how much melanin is produced in your Iris. 

20. The shark’s cornea is very similar to human corneas . The shark’s cornea can be used in human surgeries.

21. The eye can process 36,000 bits of information an hour. It does so much working on what we see.

22. Each eye has about 107 million photoreceptors (light sensitive cells) .

23. The eyes function with or without conscious thought.

24. You can’t sneeze with your eyes open . The stimulation from the sneeze goes from one nerve to the nerves in the brain and then to the eyelids. And because the nose and eyes are connected together ,you are automatically prompted to blink.

25. Some eye conditions like ptyerygia and cataracts have been linked with exposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun. The eyes can be protected by wearing quality sunglasses.

26. Adults blink about 20 times per minute while children blink even more than adults. Blinking of the eyes serves the purpose of keeping the eyes moist.

the visible part of the eye.

27. There is a part of the retina that is not sensitive to light . This part is known as the blind spot (Punctum caecum) but it is rarely noticed because the brain uses information from the other eye to fill the vision gap. 

28. The size of the yes remain the same throughout life but t the ears and nose do not stop growing.

29. The eyes can detect a candle light that is more than 2000 meters far away.

30. The fear of eyes is called Ommetaphobia.

31. The eyes heal quickly. It takes only about 2days for a corneal scratch to heal up.

32. Red eyes in photos is caused by light from the flash of the camera that bounces off the capillaries in the eyes.

33. The optic nerve has more than 1 million nerve cells. 

34. The eyes are comprised of rods and cones. The cones detect and identify colours while the cones identify shapes and they are more sensitive to light than the cones.

35. Eye jewelry is the decoration of the eyes including the eyeball . It is being practised now just like the surgery of putting a little platinum heart on the white of the eyeball.

36. Currently there is no way to transplant an entire eye though a corneal transplant (the outer part of the eye)  is possible.

37. Eating oily fish like salmon or mackerel help reduce the risk of age-related degeneration of the eyes. Vitamins A and C preserve and maintain healthy eyes.

38. We have the fastest reacting (contracting) muscle of the body in the eyes . It contracts in less than ¹/100 of every second.

39. The eyes are always moving even when you fix your gaze steadfastly on something. Eye movements are called “saccades” .They are faster than a heart beat . The movements occur several times a second.

40. Some diseases like diabetes , dementia, Hugh blood pressure can be detected in the eyes. 

The eyes are fragile and are so important to us . Take care of your eyes and protect it from injury and degeneration.