Gene Therapy That Cures Mice Might Cure Deaf Children

Someday, it may be possible to cure children of deafness caused by a gene defect.  Researchers at Boston’s Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts are developing a cure for inherited deafness by introducing a working copy of a hearing gene. The defective gene is located in the inner ear. Researchers engineered a harmless cold virus to deliver the corrected gene deep inside the ear canal. “Our strategy was to take a viral vector, remove the viral genes so that it doesn’t make...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - jeudi 10 septembre 2015