Keeping the balance

How we see our environment is the result of a multi-level, parallel processing effort by the central nervous system. This computation is initiated within the retina at the very first synapse in the visual pathway – the photoreceptor ribbon synapse. Two recent studies shed light on the critical role of balanced calcium channel activity in maturation of this highly specialized synapse.^{1, 2}     

Forging ahead

A large percentage of the world’s population have seen science fiction movies depicting biometric systems that can be circumvented by criminals using sophisticated devices. Such misleading information may prove to be a box office winner, but it can lead to a high amount of confusion about how a biometric device assesses whether a person is who he or she claims to be. While the marketing departments of many biometrics companies address the PR issues associated with inaccurate information, the technical divisions are also working hard to eliminate problems associated with ‘live and well’ checks. However, to my knowledge, in spite of the steps taken by many fingerprint companies, no fingerprint system — currently on the market — is 100% foolproof.