Gene Therapy

Can Science make better human beings?

Gene Therapy

Gene therapy is a method used by doctors that ‘uses genes as medicine’. It repairs faulty or damaged gene copies by transferring a therapeutic or working gene into specific parts of faulty gene copy. This means that gene therapy can be used to replace a faulty gene or to introduce a new gene whose function is to modify the clinical course of a condition or to cure a problem in the gene (Refer to image 2). Image 1 shows how gene therapy is completed using an adenovirus vector while image 2 explains the method of gene therapy and shows how cells are removed, altered and injected back into the patient. Gene therapy has potential to treat and cure many medical conditions such as various types of cancer, degenerative diseases and viral infections such as AIDS. Research into gene therapy still needs to be done before this approach to the treatment of certain conditions will realise its full potential. Trials are being conducted in the United States and Europe and a modest number initiated in other countries, including Australia. The majority of these trials are focussing on treating acquired conditions such as cancer (European Society of Gene & Cell therapy, 2011).

A genome is the make up of all the genetic material in an organism. It is the entire hereditary instructions for building, running and maintaining an organism and also transferring DNA onto offspring (Refer to image 3). The genome in most organisms is made up of a chemical called Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Genes are a set of instructions that determine what the organism is like, in its environment . Genes are found in the genome. The genome is made up of three components; chromosomes, which contain genes, which are m...

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...the little things wrong with them; try and become super humans.

In future times, gene therapy will become more popular and companies will be competing with each other for the development of the cheaper, more trust worthy and more efficient gene therapy technologies. Future technology that performs the gene therapy treatment will most likely become gradually cheaper overtime so that the average middle class person will be able to afford gene therapy. Insurance companies may also start allowing their services to cover for the cost of gene therapy (Issues and Impacts, 2014).

In summary, gene therapy clearly has benefits if it successfully treats diseases and allows people to lead normal and productive lives. There are still some problems associated with gene therapy but hopefully research can overcome these problems and make gene therapy more reliable and cheaper.