European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 6, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Two new soft bifocal Contact lenses Alces 100 years of contacts United press International Leonardo of Vino first thought up tha idea but ii was t until 1667 Fiata Swiss physician named Eugen pick ground Down a Small Glass disk and coined Tho term con acl this year Marks the Looth anniversary of contacts which did t hit their stride until the 1970s but which ate now part of life Lor some 24 million americans irom the president of the United slates to several contenders for his office. In the 1940s and 1550$ plastics began a real revolution said or. Roy Wesley president of the National Eye research foundation of Northbrook Iii. Ii led to a whole series of developments that Are still continuing the Contact lenses of the 1800s wore a far cry from the soft extended Wear versions today that can be worn comfortably for weeks at a time Wesley said at a recent seminar. They were not very comfortable for wearing lot Mare than a Lew hours at a time he said of the Early lenses which were As thick As the lenses on binoculars. Ancient egyptians and chinese knew As Early As 5.000 Yawara ago that vision could be improved by looking through chunks of Glass found on Sand dunes but a Vinci is credited with the original idea for the Alges Lens with bulls Eye pattern capitalizes on the Eye s natural function. Both optical isms on Retina at same Lime the Hydro curve Lens Curvo to produce Prog sve tool pm from Cerow to Edge correcting vision at Al Points not ust nor my Distant. N � Cri Tuu like conventional a Tom Contact met my Mott cum myi turf Tom bring Nading Opelc into View fat iwo Olmut Gintout torn tit Agni ptts both of cure and it Tong optics in front of on re tent it out tit us Lull in non Tel Vii of. Thu Brm two Mmott on Comet tout and Fenona other in�0. Con act lenses. In 1sos he developed several Dili Erent ideas Lor changing the surface of the Cornea a theory that was put into practice in the 1700$ Whan soldiers in the French revolution disguised themselves by wearing Glass shells Mal changed the color of their eyes pick is believed to be the first to use Small Glass disks id Correct vision he fitted the lenses two on Laboratory rabbits and then boiled them m a solution of 2 percent grape juice to keep them sterile according la a report on ii history of contacts prepared by allergen inc. I Irvine Cavil. It Sam our perfected the lenses which were usually made by grinding or blowing Glass Onlo holds taken of the Eye of the patient. One Man is known to have worn contacts Lor 20 years until his death in 1907. But fewer than 2.000 people actually wore lenses before the turn of the Century. One was scientist Marie curia who used con acl tenses laced with Lead to protect Het eyes when she discovered Radium in 1898 but few could tolerate the heavy dry tenses. They had to get something More Wesley said. Although the lenses got smaller and smaller they were still too heavy to stay in he eyes. Then came from 1938 on lenses were made of a variety of hard Clear plastics and became increasingly popular especially with the movie stars of the 1950s, Wesley said the discovery of polymer chemicals in the 1960s led to the Advant of soft con act lenses which were approved by the food and drug administration in 1971. Since then the number of americans wearing contacts has increased dramatically. Wesley said. An estimated 10 percent of the population Wear Contact lenses Al least part of the time the report concludes. This year two companies announced the development of disposable Contact lenses that can be worn Lor a week then thrown away without the bother of cleaning. Trying to explain shyness by Delthia Ricks United press International Here May be Good reason Why wallflowers stay Clear of a crowd and prefer quiet jobs say scientists who have found a possible Ink Between shyness and level of a key brain chemical. The work conducted by researchers Al Stanford University is among a growing body of Studte searching for chemical reasons to explain various personality traits. But shyness in t it Okay to be Why sure it is said or. Roy King chef inv Cigalor of the project conducted at the veterans adm Trabon Meccai Center in Palo Alto Cah. A i just thai being thy is some times do ficut for some people to Cope King s study a trial one found Low Levels it the key brain chemical Rio pamina nil thy men examined in what May be the first analysis to associate the euro chemical to a Normal personality trait. Dopamine is a substance thai is crucial to Normal neurological function and abnormally Low Levels have been Assoc tried with b unease and other disorders. Bui King insists Hia findings do not suggest that shy people have a greater predisposition to these dysfunctions 1 did go into the study with the intention of seeing if High Levels of dopamine were associated with increased Levels of social activity. In animal research drugs which increase dopamine Uke amphetamine and cocaine lend to increase social activity in rodents. So. I reasoned that
