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Gene Therapy Gene therapy is the use of genes and the techniques of genetic engineering in the treatment of a genetic disorder or chronic disease. There are many techniques of gene therapy. The two basic methods are called in vivo and ex vivo gene therapy. The in vivo method inserts genetically altered genes directly into the patient; the ex vivo method removes tissue from the patient, extracts the cells in question, and genetically alters them …

…In the United States, gene therapy techniques must be approved by the federal government. The Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee of the National Institutes of Health oversees gene therapy experiments. Like drugs, products must pass the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration. Gene therapy is a competitive and potentially lucrative field, and patents have been awarded for certain techniques. Bibliography J. Lyon and P. Gorner, Altered Fates: Gene Therapy and the Retooling of Human Life (1995).