Giving humans animal-like night vision through gene editing is a very challenging but theoretically possible idea. The following are the potential paths, technical difficulties and ethical considerations to achieve this goal： --- ###**1. The biological basis of night vision ability** 1. **Enhance rod cell function**： -**Goal**: The density and efficiency of rod cells (responsible for low-light vision) in nocturnal animals are much higher than that of humans. -**Method**: Gene editing (such as CRISPR-Cas9) upregulates rod cell-related genes (such as Rhodopsin gene) in the human retina, or introduces rod cell regulatory genes of animal origin. 2. **Introduction of reflective layer (Tapetum Lucidum)**： -**Goal**: The reflective film in the eyes of cats, dogs and other animals can reflect light and improve light utilization efficiency. -**Method**: Genes related to the synthesis of reflective layers (such as genes that regulate crystal proteins or collagen fibers) need to be inserted behind the human retina, but the anatomical structure of the eye needs to be reconstructed, which is extremely technically difficult. 3. **Dilated pupils and light-sensitive protein**： -**Goal**: Enlarge the pupils (such as cat eyes) or introduce photosensitive proteins (such as photoreceptor molecules of some deep-sea animals). -**Method**: Edit iris muscle regulatory genes to expand the dynamic range of the pupil, or introduce exogenous photosensitive protein expression through gene therapy. --- ###**2. Technical challenges** 1. **Multi-gene synergistic regulation**： -Night vision involves the collaborative work of multiple genes and physiological structures (such as the retina, optic nerve, and visual cortex of the brain). A single gene editing may not be sufficient to achieve functional integration. 2. **Limitations of the delivery system**： -Gene editing tools need to accurately target eye cells, and existing delivery vectors (such as adeno-associated virus AAV) may not be able to cover all target tissues. 3. **The complexity of structural transformation**： -Reflective film or pupil modification requires reshaping of the eye anatomy, far beyond the current ability of gene editing, and may rely on synthetic biology or a combination of biological materials. 4. **Risk of side effects**： -Enhanced night vision may sacrifice daytime vision (such as impaired cone cell function), cause light-sensitive diseases, or interfere with existing visual signal processing mechanisms. --- ###**3. Alternative or auxiliary plan** 1. **Gene-optical fusion technology**： -Combine gene editing with artificial implantable devices (such as nano-scale reflective coatings or bionic retinoids) to reduce dependence on pure biological transformation. 2. **Non-gene editing methods**： -Develop bionic night vision contact lenses or retinal projection technology to avoid the high risk of gene editing. --- ###**4. Ethical and social issues** 1. **Safety**: Irreversible genetic modification may cause unknown health risks and requires long-term animal experiment verification. 2. **Fairness**: Technology may be used by only a few people, exacerbating social inequality. 3. **Natural evolution controversy**: Human-caused acceleration of human evolution may cause ethical disputes and require a global regulatory framework. --- ###**5. Current progress and future prospects** -**Existing research**: Scientists have partially restored the cone cell function of color blind patients through gene therapy, but night vision enhancement has not yet entered the experimental stage. -**Future potential**: With the advancement of multi-group analysis and gene editing technology (such as base editing and epigenetic regulation), the transformation of complex traits may gradually become possible. --- ###**Conclusion** Although it is theoretically possible to give humans night vision through gene editing, multiple barriers of technology, biology, and ethics need to be broken through. In the short term, non-genetic means (such as optical enhancement equipment) are more feasible; in the long run, the combination of gene editing and synthetic biology may open a new era of human sensory enhancement, but it must be promoted under a strict ethical framework.