Word: cystic
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...unpretentious, preferring to dress casually in jeans and, when he rides his Honda Nighthawk 750 motorcycle, a black leather jacket. (On one of his motorcycle helmets he sticks decals that keep a running tally of every gene he and his collaborators have tracked down, including the ones responsible for cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease...
...search for spiritual fulfillment has led Collins in unexpected directions. Twice, in the company of his daughter Margaret, a medical student, he has traveled to Nigeria to treat patients in a small missionary hospital. The first time, he and his colleagues were closing in on the cystic-fibrosis gene, and yet at that critical moment Collins risked leaving his laboratory. Once in Nigeria, he agonized over whether his presence there made any difference at all. Then a farmer appeared, suffering signs of imminent heart failure. Collins dared a procedure he had never tried before, plunging a needle deep into...
...which a trait like the color of a flower is determined by a single gene -- is almost never seen in human DNA. Even a seemingly straightforward characteristic in humans, eye color, for instance, can involve the interaction of several genes. And a complex gene, like the one that causes cystic fibrosis, can go wrong in any number of places. Scientists have already counted 350 different sites where the cystic fibrosis gene mutates, and more are being uncovered almost every week...
...experiments created a rush to try similar techniques on other diseases, including cystic fibrosis, cancer and AIDS. More than 40 trials are under way around the world, making gene therapy the hottest new area of medical research...
...scientists are hunting down mutant genes like the culprit that causes some colon cancers, other researchers are seeking ways to fix the damage done by these mistakes of nature. Still in its infancy, the field of "gene therapy" has spawned dozens of experiments aimed at treating ailments ranging from cystic fibrosis to brain tumors. The goal is to transplant new genes into humans to do the work of defective ones -- or to give patients extra genes useful in fighting diseases...