h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A610011

Okay, people, first-time writer here, please go easy on me! My fiancee has albinism, and I've written a short piece on the condition with a couple of links to more authoritative websites. I'd appreciate your comments - perhaps I should expand the genetics section?

Looks great to me. Although I don't know anything at all about albinism, I really enjoyed reading your article.

Just a question it left me with (a ridiculous one maybe, but I'm curious): do individuals with albinism have red eyes because of the lack of melanine, or is that just a myth? And where in the eye would this lack of pigment be situated? I mean, on the retina, the iris, the eyeball?

Good job though.

Shrimp

Thanks for the positive response, Shrimp!
For your information, the iris is not red but usually gray, blue or brown, but sometimes there's a reddish reflection reflected through the iris, which has little pigment. The reflection comes from the retina, and is similar to the red-eye reflection from flash photography. In some types of albinism the reddishness can reflect through the iris and pupil. In my fiancee, however, I only see a slight reddish tinge around the outside of her blue iris. Most of this information is in the Fact About Albinism website, which I linked to in the article.

Thanks for your interest,
Berek

As far as I know, the red colour of eyes (in albinism as well as photography) comes from the light reflected by the blood vessels in the retina. Is that true?

I'm not an expert, Bossel, so I don't really know - I thought the light affected the rods and cones in the retina, which may be the phenomena you're describing. Maybe one of the websites has more info. Have you read the rest of the article? What did you think?

I'm not an expert either, and read it all and think you should go to peer review

However, be prepared to meet some Real Life Guru who knows everything better, but that's what PR is all about

Oh, I forgot to sign


Bossel (Scout)

Further research on the web confirms that red eyes, at least in a flash photography situation, are caused by light reflected from the 'blood vessels nourishing the eye' in the retina.
So you think I'm ready for Peer Review? So where do I go from here? Post a new thread over there, or does this thread magically get transported over there? I'll have a look at the PR page and see if I get some hints there - thanks for your support!!! :o) 8)

I've gone ahead and started a new thread on Peer Review

I definitely think this article is suitable for the edited Guide. So... good thing moving it to PR

Shrimp

Cheers, shrimp!

I've posted to the Scouts' egroup to have this thread moved over to the entry itself. The new review system (see A591473) will feature some automatic thread moving but atm it's all manual.

Thanks Bossel,
I appreciate your efforts and hard work!

Oh, could I quote you when my salary is up for debate again?

Since this conversation is going to be moved out of the WW, I can safely rant away.

Bossel, I checked out the page about the new review system. I don't quite get it I think. It appears to say that the CWW, the AWW and the Flea Market are going to be created, but of course they are already. Or is the entry not up-to-date anymore and have those pages indeed only recently been added?

Did I mention I'm new?

Anyway, the other suggestions look alright to me. Gotta check out the conversations about it though.

Shrimp

Yes, the other pages (CWW, AWW) have been added in the meantime. What is still to be implemented is a set of buttons, for the authors' use to put an entry up for Review or to 'move' threads (that is, removal of the previous and creation of a new thread) between different places. Suggestions for further features or amendments are always welcome!

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'The Writing Workshop' to 'Albinism - a brief introduction'.