Like every medical revolution before it, the field of gene therapy began with the vision of a brighter future. Researchers promised to cure such hereditary disorders as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and sickle-cell anemia, not with conventional medicine but with the magic of genetic engineering, supplanting defective genes with their normal counterparts. Patients dreamed of a life free of the diseases they had inherited. Venture capitalists dreamed of untold riches and backed the leading researchers in the field with millions of dollars of seed money.
But turning visions into reality has always been the trickiest step in conducting a successful revolution....
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