gene therapy

noun

: the insertion of usually genetically altered genes into cells especially to replace defective genes in the treatment of genetic disorders or to provide a specialized disease-fighting function

gene therapist noun

Examples of gene therapy in a Sentence

advances in the science of gene therapy

Recent Examples on the Web

While bone marrow cells, immune cells, and skin cells can be taken out of the body to administer gene therapy, that won’t work when the main problem is in the cardiovascular system (as in progeria) or the brain (as in many rare genetic diseases). —Francis Collins, WIRED, 7 Jan. 2025

Premium Rapid advancements in science are producing dividends for health: The first gene therapies have been approved by regulators, new cancer therapies are yielding promising results without harmful side effects, and GLP-1s are now able to treat a wide swathe of chronic diseases. —Forbes Membership, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024

The pigs survived for the six-month duration of the study, while they would have been expected to die from heart failure without the gene therapy. —Melissa Rudy, Fox News, 11 Dec. 2024

Johnson, whose work was not mentioned by Kurzweil, spends $2 million a year on anti-aging experiments such as receiving blood transfusions from his teenage son, injecting fat into his face and undergoing gene therapy. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

gene therapy

noun

: the insertion of a functioning gene into cells especially to replace a defective gene in the treatment of genetic disorders

Medical Definition

gene therapy

noun

: the insertion of usually genetically altered genes into cells especially to replace defective genes in the treatment of genetic disorders or to provide a specialized disease-fighting function (as the destruction of tumor cells)

gene therapist noun