Breakthroughs and Consequences

Although the initial concept of gene therapy with stem cells may seem flawless, the technology presented is yet to be perfected.Without extensive testing, the more suitable gene cannot be determined. A number of major breakthroughs would have to be acquired in order for this process to become successful. Another breakthrough people have not accomplished yet is the method to suppress the human immune response as the virus does its role. If the first try is to result in a failure, another injection of the virus or even the modified stem cells will quickly be rejected since memory cells have been created to combat the same foreign particles.A third issue we hypothesized was the difficulty to be granted approvement by the authorities to apply retinal genetic therapy to color blind patients.Approval would be exceedingly slow due to the public disinterest in furthering gene therapy research in the field of human vision since the 2009 squirrel monkey breakthrough.

Though dichromatic squirrel monkeys reacted positively to the gene therapy applied directly into their retinas, there are a number of foreseeable issues that might occur if the same procedure were to be applied to humans. For one, there has not been sufficient research done on the test subjects to conclude that this solution is indisputably safe. Dalton and Sam have not experienced any psychological trauma or physical altercations post-surgery but the same cannot yet be proven for humans, a closely related but still genetically dissimilar species. Cone opsin genes, crucial for the creation of introductory photoreceptor cells, also might be rejected by their immune systems. Additionally, the insertion of the microscopic genes must be applied via subretinal injection, meaning even the slightest contamination or surgical mishap can have catastrophic results.

There still remains a few pressing concerns that only more years of research can answer. Longevity is a major one; if this procedure really takes off, will the corrected vision be passed down to offspring of initial patients? More importantly, will it be passed down correctly, with no alterations or mutations, removing any reason for there to be color blindness in the future? In theory, targeting the sperm and egg cells solely should ensure gene preservation.

If all of this can be achieved, the human genome will essentially contain none of the discrepancies that currently are the causes for inadequate color perceptions. The ten percent of our population that cannot take a true look at the world in all its aesthetic wonders will thereafter be enriched with a newfound appreciation and greater quality of life. Moreover, preventing this one retinal mutation can serve as a stepping stone that can only lead to even more significant developments in medical science. Through this, we could very well successfully and irrefutably  find a cure for blindness and other severe eye diseases and disorders, rendering such diagnoses the qualms of a past generation. Indeed, even eyesight in what we might today consider superhuman standards can be achieved with further development of gene therapy.