Gene Therapy- Why is it important ?
Gene therapy is used to help cure cancer and other disorders caused genetically. It's possible to do this because gene therapy can replace the disordered gene or a missing gene. This process has been used before and it helped not just people with cancer but also people with disorders like hemophilia and immune deficiencies. You may ask "how do you take the gene to the cells?". Well, scientists use vectors as carriers of the new gene. There are many types of vectors. One of many is a viral vector. Viral vectors are viruses that have the new gene implanted and these vectors do not contain the gene that cause the sickeness. Once the vector injects this new gene into a cell then the cell would start making the protein that previously wasn't made. Since, every somatic (body) cell goes through mitosis (cellular replication), this cell would replicate itself with the new gene creating another generation of cells with this gene. Therefore, this process is very significant