Saw the most beautiful Sundogs.

Blog vol 5.38. Saw the most beautiful Sundogs.


What do dogs have to do with light? The Dog Star comes to mind, otherwise called Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, a binary star with two parts A and B, in the constellation of Canis Major (Harry Potter fans will appreciate the Sirius Black reference with his animagus form being a dog).  But enough digression.


When I pulled into the parking lot at Burlington Eyecare this morning, got out of my car, and paused to look at the now sunny sky, there they were as plain as can be: Sundogs. When growing up in Northern Ontario, we saw them a lot in the frigid winter air and bright sunny days in South Porcupine. When the sun is just above the horizon on a colder morning one can sometimes see two little “suns” (Sundogs) at three and nine o’clock . Not that uncommon, but always breathtaking.


How does it happen? You have to have the right clouds, cirrus at elevation 20,000 feet, cold temperatures, and a clear sky. The sun’s rays pass through plate crystals which float in the air in cold climates. When the light passes through these floating crystals, it is refracted like with a prism (think Pink Floyd and the “Dark Side of the Moon”). The result is a concentration of light at the side positions. If you look closely, you can see a faint rainbow.


When you look at the colours of the Dogs, they start with red on the inner and go through the ROY G. BIV. order of a rainbow.  Pure optics and very cool.   There are also variations with larger sized crystals producing more “wobble” and subsequently taller Sundogs. The particular crystals and the angles at which they are positioned all affect the resulting Sundogs and where you will see them.


To see Sundogs it is best to look at the sun from a 22 degree angle which is why I could see them so well this morning. They usually appear as bright spots on either side of the sun and are most common in the winter. Sundogs can happen when the sun is higher up in the sky as well though they will be further from the sun (read more here).


Just stopping to enjoy the show, and then passing it on,



The good doctor

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Blog vol 6.40. The Gut and the Eyes. One of my biggest jobs is to keep abreast of new research and advances in eye health. Most recently, we have seen new stem cell research, gene therapies, as well as new drugs for dry and wet macular degeneration. In January of this year, there was an article in the journal, Cell Death and Disease, that looked at cell apoptosis, specifically with the photoreceptors of the eye. (Read the article here ). Apoptosis is the genetic programming of deliberate and constructive cell death, allowing for the maintenance of healthy structures and systems in the body. Some estimates have the body replacing 50 to 70 billion cells daily by this process. Necrosis, on the other hand, is unplanned cell death caused by injury, toxins, or other negative outside factors; this causes inflammation and disrupts the body’s balance of things. There are stressors that speed up cell turnover. The study looked at photoreceptors in the retina and were able to demonstrate cellular recovery, even in late stages of apoptosis, recovery not breakdown. When certain stressors were reduced, by working with the mitochondria, there was recovery of the photoreceptor cells. How? Mitophagy, the mitochondria’s own process of programmed breaking down and then repurposing the recycled components for new ones. This mitochondrial repair helps to reverse the sequence of apoptosis for the photoreceptors. Mitochondria, how cool. How is this helpful for our eyes? Conditions like retinitis pigmentosa or macular degeneration directly involve the photoreceptors and may be slowed or reversed by helping the mitochondria. So, let’s take care of those mitochondria. There is some evidence for nutritional support for the mitochondrial system. The nutrient, Urolithin A (UA), which is a compound made in our gut from fiber found in pomegranates, berries, and nuts is the only clinically proven substance known to trigger mitophagy, made in the gut no less. Vitamin B3 is critical for mitochondria function, however vitamin B3 based supplements are still to be clinically tested for their support of cell recovery. Nutrients Coenzyme Q10 and L-carnitine are known to help the mitochondria generate energy, and interestingly, infrared light therapy has also been shown to benefit mitochondrial function. Again, food for thought. The gut and its function needs a lot of research. How do probiotics and nutrient precursors affect eye tissues? It is so interesting that the gut can be a factor in eye health. Maybe adding Urolithin A as a supplement is wise, along with the antioxidants in Lutein and Zeaxanthin we use to combat photoreceptor degeneration. Will keep you posted on any new developments.  The good doctor

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