The light-sensitive layer found at the back of a person's eyes contains more than just cells that detect shadows and light -- it also contains information about the health of a person's entire body. And now, artificial intelligence can glean this information from a single snapshot, new research suggests. The new AI algorithm, which analyzes images of this light-sensitive layer of the eye, called the retina, could one day provide on the spot diagnoses of various ailments from diabetes to autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases, the researchers claim. The AI algorithm was presented by Dr. Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth, the director of the ophthalmology department at the Medical University of Vienna, earlier this month at a scientific meeting in Vienna. Research on the algorithm was published Dec. 8 in the journal Ophthalmology.