Scientists have turned to a deliciously innovative way to improve surgical techniques for treating people with glaucoma — by studying pancakes.
But it wasn’t the flavor of flapjacks that interested University College London researchers, it was their appearance.
hat’s because one treatment for glaucoma — a buildup of pressure in the eye caused by fluid — includes cutting away at the eye’s protective layer, called the sclera.
A better understanding of the physics of how a pancake cooks can help scientists understand how the sclera interacts with liquids and vapors, improving future treatments, researchers noted.
So they compared the cooking process for 14 flapjack recipes — ranging from French crepes to thick Dutch pancakes to Malaysian lempeng kelapa — they detail in a new study published by the journal Mathematics Today on Monday.