The finding may provide an easier way of treating the condition, which is expected to affect about 50% of the world's population by 2050 and can lead to visual impairment later in life.

Nearsightedness – myopia – is a common condition in which objects that are close appear clearly, but far ones are blurry. It occurs when the eye's shape causes the light rays that enter it to bend inaccurately. Instead of the light rays being focused on the retina at the back of the eye, they're focused in front of it.