1.
2. Differentiate the following :
I. Types of Gene Therapy
SOMATIC GENE THERAPY
a. Transfer of a section of a DNA
to any cell of the body that
doesn’t produce sperm or eggs.
b. Effects of the gene therapy will
not be passed onto the patient’s
children.
c. Somatic gene therapy pinpoints on the
improvement of genetic disease by
handling of nonreproductive or somatic
tissues.
d. This therapy currently focuses on
recovering diseases that are restricted to
the one tissue, including CF (Cystic
fibrosis) and adenosine
deaminase (ADA). 
e. Somatic gene therapy involves
incorporating a normal gene into the
suitable cells of an individual affected with
a genetic disease, thereby permanently
correcting the disorder.
GERM LINE THERAPY
a. Transfer of a section of DNA to
cells that produce eggs or sperm.
b. Effects of gene therapy will be
passed onto the patient’s
children and subsequent
generations.
c. Gene therapy treatment of somatic
tissues involves both the direct
complementation of nDNA mitochondrial
gene mutations and various efforts to
complement pathogenic mtDNA mutations.
d. Provide a functional protein to an
individual whose genotype leads to a
disease because the protein is missing or
modified so that it is not functional. 
e. Germline therapy is a type of gene
therapy where new DNA is inserted
into cells using a vector, like a virus. The
new DNA replaces only faulty DNA to
cure genetic diseases.
II. Gene Therapy Techniques
GENE AUGMENTATION THERAPY
a. Is used to treat diseases caused
by a mutation that stops a gene
from producing a functioning
product such as a protein.
b. This therapy adds DNA containing
a functional version of the lost
gene back into the cell.
c. The new gene produces a
functioning product at
sufficient levels to replace the
protein that was originally
missing
d. Gene therapy is designed to
introduce genetic material into cells to
compensate for abnormal genes or to
make a beneficial protein. Instead, a
carrier called a vector is genetically
engineered to deliver the gene. Certain
viruses are often used as vectors because
they can deliver the new gene by infecting
the cell.
e. Gene therapy is a technique for
correcting defective genes responsible for
disease development. A normal gene may
be inserted into a nonspecific location
within the genome to replace a
nonfunctional gene.
GENE INHIBITION THERAPY
a. Suitable for the treatment of
infectious diseases, cancer and
inherited disease caused by
inappropriate gene activity.
b. The aim is to introduce a gene
whose product either:
-inhibits the expression of
another gene
-interferes with the activity of
the product of another gene.
c. The basis of this therapy is to
eliminate the activity of a gene
that encourages the growth of
disease-related cells.
d. Is to introduce a gene whose product
either: inhibits the expression of
another gene. interferes with the activity of
the product of another gene.
e. Gene therapy is designed to
introduce genetic material into cells to
compensate for abnormal genes or to
make a beneficial protein.
3. What are stem cells and how can it be used in the treatment of various
diseases? Limit your answer to one paragraph consist of 5 to 7 sentences
(Avoid writing your answers in short sentences).

Stem cells also known as regenerative medicine promotes the repair

response of diseased, dysfunctional or injured tissue using stem cells or their
derivatives. In stem cell transplants, stem cells replace cells damaged by
chemotherapy or disease or serve as a way for the donor's immune system to fight
some types of cancer and blood related diseases, such as leukemia, lymphoma,
neuroblastoma and multiple myeloma. These transplants use adult stem cells or
umbilical cord blood. In some organs, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem
cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged
tissues.These cells are called human embryonic stem cells. The embryos used in
these studies were created for reproductive purposes through in vitro fertilization
procedures.

4. In your own personal opinion, should people be allowed to use gene

therapy to enhance basic human traits such as height, intelligence, or
athletic ability? What can you say about its ethical concerns? Limit your
answer to one paragraph consist of 6 to 8 sentences (Avoid writing your
answers in short sentences).

In my opinion, I don’t think individuals should be able to enhance traits such

as athletic ability and intelligence. Intelligence and Athleticism are both somewhat
already influenced by genes. Taking the extra step to enhance these two factors
would be unfair. Throughout society today, we are measured on a lot of different
factors. Our intelligence is constantly measured throughout school, up into our
further careers. Having enhanced intelligent is unfair to those who work twice as
hard to achieve the same level of intelligence. Another unfair advantage is having an
enhanced athletic ability. Similar to the use of steroids, using gene therapy to
enhance one’s athleticism is an unfair advantage to those who work hard every day
to achieve the same level of fitness. In other words, if it’s acceptable to genetically
enhance a person’s height, then who’s to say that one can’t alter other physical
features, such as nose shape. The biggest problem of using gene therapy to
enhance basic human traits is there is often ambiguity of what is acceptable and
what is not.

SOURCES:
https://www.asgct.org/education/more-resources/gene-and-cell-therapy-faqs
https://rampages.us/brittneenicole/2015/10/07/ethical-dilemmas-of-gene-therapy/