Researchers based at the Department of Cell Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, have shown that suppressing thyroid hormone (TH) signaling in the retina may be protective of cone photoreceptor cells in a range of degenerating retinal disorders. In addition, stimulating TH signalling appeared to cause an increase in cone cell death, a potentially desirable effect in the context of retinoblastoma. The research results, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), (www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1317041111), suggest that therapeutic application of the findings could have benefit in the treatment of disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), Leber’s congenital amaurosis (LCA), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and achromotopsia.