Modern Science: Gene Therapy and Climate Change Impacts
Gene Therapy: Medical Innovation and Applications
What is Gene Therapy?
Gene therapy is a new way of treating diseases based on the introduction of genetic material into cells to correct a biological problem.
How Does It Work?
You can correct a disease by providing information (as genes) into cells so that they themselves manufacture the active product (protein) needed.
- Cells are extracted from the patient.
- In the laboratory, a virus is modified so that it cannot reproduce.
- A gene is inserted into the virus.
- The modified virus is mixed with the patient's cells.
- The patient's cells become genetically modified.
- The modified cells are injected back into the patient.
- The genetically modified cells produce the desired protein or hormone.
Objectives of Gene Therapy
- Substitution: Replacing a defective gene with a normal copy of it.
- Lock: Blocking the genes involved in disease development.
- Summary: Achieving a new therapeutic effect.
Diseases Treated by This Therapy
- Genetic diseases
- Cancer
- AIDS
- Peripheral arterial disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Coronary heart disease
Is It Safe?
In most clinical trials, there have not been significant problems of toxicity, except for a case last year where a young volunteer passed away.
Glossary of Terms
- Genetic material: Genes and other nucleic acids.
- Chromosome: Each of the particles which exist in the nucleus of cells in which heredity resides.
- Haemophilia: An X-linked hereditary condition characterized by difficulty in blood clotting, suffered exclusively by men.
Pandemics and Climate Change
Understanding Climate Change
Climate change refers to changes with respect to the history of global or regional climate scales.
What is Climate Change?
By "climate change," we mean a change of climate attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.
Why Does It Happen?
The main causes of this phenomenon are gases, especially CO2, emitted daily by human activity. We also contribute to the emission of CO2 through irresponsible consumption, as the sale of any product involves an energy cost for production and transportation.
How Does It Affect Us?
Aridity in the land affects agricultural activities. Researchers state that in the not-too-distant future, the huge masses of ice at the poles will melt, causing a rise in sea levels and seriously endangering the possibility of life on the coasts.