Thanks to gene therapy, this monkey can distinguish shades of red and green.
If nature gave you some bum genes, you’ve got a chance of fixing them. Genetic treatments have allowed researchers to cure color blindness in two squirrel monkeys. As published this month in Nature, gene therapy allowed two males to begin producing the L-opsin protein that allowed them to finally see reds and greens. Besides viewing the world in color, what’s the benefit of genetic treatments? Endless supplies of grape juice. Check out the short video below of one of the monkeys getting a reward for identifying red spots during a test.
When any form of blindness has a genetic cause, the promise of restored sight through genetic treatment lingers. We saw the first such case of gene therapy restoring sight when it was used to cure Leber’s congenital amaurosis (LCA) in human children. Those tests were revolutionary, but monkey technicolor vision is remarkable as well. Most scientists believed that adult brains do not have the same rewiring capabilities and plasticity as young brains. Yet the two adult monkeys, Sam and Dalton, started receiving and comprehending new signals once the L-opsin gene was introduced into their retinas.
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