Six years ago, a couple discovered a possible cure for colorblindness. Typically, colorblindness is genetic, so gene therapy is a possible cure for it. Eight percent of men are affected by it, while only 0.5% of women are. What happens is, a mutation on the x-chromosome inhibits distinguishing abilities between red and green. While red and green are just two colors in our spectrum, the way that colors are made and the way we see them means that reds and greens within other colors like blue, purple, orange, and yellow are also affected. Look below at the simulation.
As we learned in class last week, monkeys have the most similar experience with viewing color that humans do, and so that’s just what the two scientists used: squirrel monkeys. First, they began with surgery on the monkeys’ retinas, where new genes must be inserted in order for cells to respond to color. However, retinal surgery is risky. Other scientists at Berkeley discovered an alternative way to deliver the genes, which is through the vitreous, which is the clear gel in the eye. Somehow, this has nothing to do with the cones in the brain, but instead is only within the eye.
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