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https://theconversation.com/curiosity-driven-research-led-to-a-recent-major-medical-breakthrough-but-its-under-threat-252298>
"Earlier this year news broke about doctors in London curing blindness in
children with a rare genetic condition.
The genetic condition was a severe, albeit rare, form of retinal dystrophy. It
causes severe sight impairment and can be caused by defects in many different
genes.
In this case, the four young patients had mutations in the gene encoding AIPL1.
This accounts for up to 5% of infants affected by this condition, and has no
treatment.
In this study, published in
The Lancet, a team from the Moorfields Eye
Hospital and University College London Institute of Ophthalmology injected a
new copy of the gene AIPL1 into one eye of each patient to replace the
defective one. The four children in the study showed improved functional vision
without serious adverse effects.
The story of this incredible breakthrough actually begins 132 years ago. It
highlights the importance of research done not for any clear application in the
world – just curiosity. But around the world, this kind of research is under
threat."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
