March 13, 2010
March 9, 2010
Gene Therapy's
Autumn Lauber
Mar. 9, 2010
Period 1
Scientists Still Hopeful about Gene Therapy's Promise
Gene therapy, 25 years ago, was thought to be on the path of revolutionize medicine. That never happened, but today there is a dim gleam of light, (not at the end of the tunnel, that's a long way off) that say progress is being made. "The concept of gene therapy is simple. Some diseases are caused by damage to a single gene — for example, cystic fibrosis and hemophilia. Give patients the healthy gene, and in theory, the disease is cured." Back in the day, the 'cure' was put into a virus that would get in the body and help the damaged gene that causes the illness. That's all well and good, but the bodies of the test patience tried to fight off the virus. To make matters worse, when the virus did get in they caused cancer. Oooups. "The field of gene therapy is now seeing positive results. Scientists have found new ways to modify viruses to make them better at delivering genes, and several studies are showing that the gene therapy can effectively treat an array of disorders."
You may have notated by now that I do A LOT of current events on genes. This is because I find genes very interesting. They make us who we are from the color of our hair and eyes to how tall we maybe. Genes also take (some) part in determining if a person is gay or straight. Research has identified several biological factors which may be related to the development of sexual orientation, including genes, prenatal hormones, and brain structure. No single controlling cause has been identified, and research is continuing in this area. At one time, twin studies appeared to point to a major genetic component, but problems in experimental design of the available studies have made their interpretation difficult, and one recent study appears to exclude genes as a major factor. My genes make me have my father's hair and my mother's eyes. It's nice to know that if some gene stops working, we may be able to get a fix with gene therapy.
March 7, 2010
Religious Claims
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html
this was a sight referenced on the atheist experience. its a bunch of crap (claims from creationist that ‘prove’ or ‘explain’ stuff) cataloged. Check it out!
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