The brain processes visual information when light energy transduces into neural activity in the retina. The close-knit components of the central nervous system (CNS), the brain, and its extension retina are thus the critical players in visual perception, thereby aiding in daily activities. While the brain remains well protected inside the skull, the eyes are quite susceptible to physical injuries and chemical accidents. 1 Furthermore, one's genetic makeup and increasing age also invite multiple numbers of eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, etc All this has contributed to the recent "World Reports on vision (2019)," which shows that a whopping 2.2 billion people globally fell victim to visual impairment in the past year. 2 The discovery of the existence of adult retinal stem/progenitor cells among different vertebrate species 3 and its high reparative activity in the case of lower vertebrates has presented us with a possibility to "self-heal" the retina one day. 4 Consequently, high regeneration competent animals, which include the amphibian newts and Xenopus, teleost zebrafish (Danio rerio), and chick are thus being explored 5 to investigate different genetic and epigenetic features, signaling pathways, and factors 6,7 that regulate stem cell activation, thus gradually filling in the gaps of our knowledge of mammals, which appear to be the least competent among the group. 8 With the hope of updating and giving researchers an idea about how these animal models have significantly shaped our understanding of the retinal regeneration process, in this review,

Objectives: The long-term isolation, endogamy practices, and environmental adaptations have shaped the enormous human diversity in India. The genetic and morphological variations in mainland Indians are well studied. However, the data on the Indian Himalayan populations are scattered. Thus, the present study attempts to understand variations in the selected parameter among four Tibeto-Burman speaking ethnic tribal populations from the Darjeeling Hill Region (DHR) in the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot region of India.Methods: A total of 178 healthy male individuals (Lepcha 98, Sherpa 31, Bhutia 27, and Tibetans 22) living at an altitudinal range of 1467-2258 m above the sea level were studied for the 10 parameters namely, weight (kg), height (cm), body mass index (BMI) (kg/m 2 ) systolic and diastolic pressure (mm of Hg), pulse rate (per minute), saturation of peripheral oxygen (SPO 2 ) (%), hemoglobin (g/dl), hematocrit (HCT) (%), and blood glucose (mg/dl). The data was statistically analyzed using analysis of variance and multiple linear regression methods. Results: Our analysis revealed comparatively lower hemoglobin and HCT levels, and higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the Sherpas followed by the Tibetans. This may be reflecting the persistence of high-altitude adaptation signatures even in lowlands. Interestingly, the Tibetans differed significantly from other populations in terms of their higher body weight, height, and BMI. Conclusion: Thus, our study showed the persistence of high altitude signatures in Tibetans and Sherpa inhabited the DHR. Additionally, we also observed significant differences in the anthropometric and physiological parameters among the Tibeto-Burman populations of the DHR.