• Question: is it possible to correct mutated genes?

    Asked by to Asif, Laura, Lena, Sean, Viv on 14 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Laura Waters

      Laura Waters answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      Not really my area but I found some scientists in Florida who think they can correct gene mutations that would help obese people – and we have a lot of those!

    • Photo: Lena Ciric

      Lena Ciric answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      Yes. Gene therapy is used to repair mutations in the body. This basically involves finding out if a mutation in a gene is causing a disease and then replacing this gene with a non-mutated “healthy” version. This is inserted into the cell and the cell’s machinery then uses the “healthy” gene rather than the mutated one.

    • Photo: Sean Murphy

      Sean Murphy answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      Yes, I am working on another project to try and cure patients with cystic fibrosis, a lung disease caused by a gene mutation. We modify viruses so that instead of causing disease they will infect cells and correct the mutated gene.

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