Retinal degeneration diseases affect over 200 million people worldwide These diseases cause severe vision loss and can ultimately lead to irreversible blindness While excessive light exposure is known to damage photoreceptors and exacerbate retinal degeneration, the underlying mechanism is unclear, making it difficult to effectively treat these diseases In a recent study, researchers sought to understand the mechanisms driving light-induced photoreceptor cell death Using mouse models, they evaluated the molecular changes that occurred in retinal cells after excessive light exposure The results showed that light activated the molecules mTOR and PARP-1, initiating a unique programmed cell death mechanism termed “parthanatos” Blocking this process protected light-damaged photoreceptors, preventing cell death While additional studies are needed to determine the precise mechanisms involved and how these results translate to humans, the results suggest that targeting mTOR and PARP-1 could lead to strategies that protect against retinal degeneration diseases