if we can just figure out how to make it work.

Hey peeps, thanks for tuning in to Dnews. I'm Trace. Gene therapy sounds like

a nice easy treatment right that's therapy. In some ways it is

on the macro level, but in your cells it's a little bit invasive.

In gene therapy, doctors are basically hacking the DNA of a living human.

Using genetically engineered retroviruses called vectors,

scientists infect human cells. The retrovirus can be programmed to carry a

gene or a little bit of DNA that will overwrite

the messed up mutation and make it work properly. It was first tried on a young girl

in 1990 and despite some

early failures it has the potential to revolutionize treatment of genetic

disorders.

The Journal of Science describes one of the recent successes that gene therapists say

was really exciting. A few children were born with metachromatic leukodystrophy

which causes

a defective immune system and some brain disorders and kids who have it usually

don't live past the age of five. Bone marrow contains stem cells, the cells

normally produce red blood cells but they can be reprogrammed using gene

therapy it's a little risky, but

it can work. Taking bone marrow from these kids doctors were able to infect

the cells with a retrovirus and replace the stem cells mutated gene with the

repaired gene.

Then they re-injected that back into the patient and the fixed cells multiplied

and as of the time we filmed this, the patients are all in good condition,

and are heading to kindergarten at that time that others with that disease can't

even speak.

There maybe future side effects but they seem pretty happy with the result at the

moment

I mean I would be. Science just helped some kids! Whoo!

It's not just useful in children. Scientists have also used gene therapy on dogs to

cure them of Type 1 Diabetes with two of their doggie patients still alive

years later. The treatment involved injecting two things into dogs' muscles.

One gene to send glucose and an enzyme to dictate glucose absorption. Scientists

don't have to target

our DNA, they can also use gene therapy to target the DNA of cancer cells.

It's like they gave cancer cancer. You've seen this before if you've been following

Dnews. A protein called CD47 is like a passport that tells your immune system

not to attack a cell.

Normally cancer produces a ton of CD47.

Using gene therapy on the cancer, scientist turned off that cell

production and let the immune system blow it out of the sky like a decloaked

Klingon bird of prey

Gene therapy is still in its infancy but the promise of future cures for

everything from cancer to genetic disorders is pretty incredible

And I for one cannot wait to see what this brings. What do you think of gene

therapy?

How do you see it being used in the future? Tell us your thoughts and keep

coming back for Dnews every day!