Can the dragonflies’ ability to see different colors help humans? A team of researchers led by Professors Mitsumasa Koyanagi and Akihisa Terakita at Osaka Metropolitan University has published a study on how Gomphidae dragonflies detect red light https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00018-025-06017-9 . The team found that dragonflies have a specific opsin (a protein in the eye) that responds to light at a wavelength of around 720 nm. This means that they can see deeper reds than most insects and humans. This ability helps dragonflies identify mates when flying. Male and female dragonflies reflect red to infrared light differently. This opsin protein could provide significant benefits in medical research and diagnostics. The researchers successfully modified a dragonfly long-wavelength-sensitive opsin (Am_RhLWA2) to create a mutant (V211C) that responds strongly to near-infrared (NIR) light (738 nm). Optogenetics is a technique that uses light-sensitive proteins to control cellular activity in living tissue. Because longer wavelengths of light penetrate biological tissues (such as skin and bone) much deeper than visible light, this near-infrared sensitivity allows researchers to potentially activate targeted cells non-invasively, deep inside an organism. By enabling precise, light-driven control over G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and calcium-signaling pathways, tools like this could provide a powerful laboratory framework for investigating neurological, cardiac, and cellular mechanisms underlying various diseases.