How can this PLR (pupillary light reflex) help you determine whether the lesion is in the eye itself or elsewhere?

Pupillary light reflex refers to the contraction that the pupils present when they light up. In cases of injury to the optic nerve, when the eye where the injured optic nerve is illuminated, since it cannot conduct the stimulus to the brain, neither pupil closes.

Explanation:

Pupillary light reflex refers to the reaction that causes the pupil to close with light thanks to the contraction of the sphincter of the pupil and to open in the dark thanks to the relaxation of that muscle by not receiving any stimulus. A light stimulus reaches the eye and in the retina it is transformed, through a chemical reaction, into an electrical stimulus that will be transmitted through the optic nerve and the visual pathways to the brain. The visual cells of the retina, rods and cones, also act as light receptors that control the pupil's motor activity. Thus, pupil-motor thresholds to light follow the same spectral sensitivity deviations as visual thresholds, which are a function of the state of light adaptation of the retina.

"1. it should be, it has been for about 20 years, and it's really not much different in the end than breeding animals to have particular traits. there are always concerns about genetically engineered animals/plants affecting the environment in unexpected negative ways, but i can't think of an example where the fears didn't turn out to be baseless.  

first, as you point out, it would be a great advance in pharmacology, to be able to tailor drugs and their doses to me. the pros involve better medical treatment. the cons involve privacy issues like insurance companies denying coverage to people with genetic risk factors. looking at dna markers wouldn't affect the frequency of genetic diseases, but it would allow detection of them earlier. and ok, actually i suppose that if people used this information to avoid having children with genetic diseases, some might decrease in frequency."