| Image Credit: P. Lynch / Getty Images |
Around 8% of humans suffer from some form of color vision deficiency. In times past, attempts to mitigate the condition commonly involved eyeglasses with colored lenses. Even the famed physicist James Clerk Maxwell, as part of his study of color vision, proposed glasses with one green and one red lens to compensate for red-green colorblindness.
Today, people with color vision deficiency have more choices—with possible new alternatives down the road. A feature article in the October issue of Optica's Optics & Photonics News (OPN) looks at some technologies coming to the aid of those with color-related genetic vision problems. One option already on the market is notch-filtered eyeglasses, which look like typical sunglasses, but whose makers claim they can correct for a variety of color vision issues. Researchers are also pursuing contact lenses that incorporate plasmonic metasurfaces; augmented-reality head-mounted displays; and gene therapy.
The efficacy of some technologies is still under debate. And, as OPN feature's author, freelance science writer Patricia Daukantas, notes, colorblindness isn't likely to be "cured" any time soon. But optical scientists will remain on the case—and those with this common affliction can likely look forward to a richer view of the world. |
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| Image Credit: Yongjin Wang, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications |
| A recent news release featuring work published in Optics Letters describes a new multi-channel communication system that uses a single optical path to create a multi-channel communication link over the air. |
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| Image Credit: Qi Dai, Wuhan University |
| Researchers have developed a three-channel device that could be used to combat counterfeiting or as a new way to securely deliver encrypted information. The work is featured in a news release from Optics Express. |
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| Image Credit: Yan Li, Shanghai Jiao Tong University |
| In this news release from Optics Express, learn how researchers lay the groundwork for a more comfortable, realistic AR/VR experience. |
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 Image Credit: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation |
| The (Atomic) Clockmaker |
| Learn how a woman from Columbia overcame obstacles to become a leading theoretical physicist and develop the world's most accurate atomic clock. |
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 Image Credit: Getty Images |
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