Color-blind monkeys have vision restored through gene therapy

Red-green colorblindness could soon be a thing of the past for humans. In a study at the University of Washington is Seattle, recently published in Nature, scientists injected naturally red-green colorblind squirrel monkeys with a gene for a human photoreceptor, according to the MIT Review.

The monkeys were given a test before and after the gene therapy similar to tests given to humans to test color-blindness. Two years after the gene therapy the two monkeys involved in the study have much-improved color vision with no negative side effects. Because human color-blindness is nearly the same as color-blindness in squirrel monkeys, researchers are hopeful that the gene therapy can be used on humans in the future.

For more information please visit the MIT Technology Review and Nature.com

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