This laboratory uses confocal imagery, immunohistochemistry, Northern blot, and cell culture to determine aging and radiation induced changes, including cataract, in the lens. The causes of and mechanism(s) of cataract development is a primary focus. The molecules important for DNA strand break and repair, the loss of cells from the lens surface with age, the related role of reactive oxygen radicals, and the chromosomal damage incurred with radiation or with aging are under study. An additional special interest is the relationship of animal size and life span to the chronological time and sector of life span at which age-related cataracts develop.