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gene therapy

medicine
Also known as: gene transfer therapy, genetic modification
Written by
John Harris
Sir David Alliance Professor of Bioethics, University of Manchester. His contributions to SAGE Publications's Encyclopedia of Disability (2006) formed the basis of his contributions to Britannica.
John HarrisAll
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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ā€¢History

gene therapy, introduction of a normal gene into an individualā€™s genome in order to repair a mutation that causes a genetic disease. When a normal gene is inserted into the nucleus of a mutant cell, the gene most likely will integrate into a chromosomal site different from the defective allele; although that may repair the mutation, a new mutation may result if the normal gene integrates into another functional gene. If the normal gene replaces...

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