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Researchers interested in studying the potentially beneficial effects of marijuana on AIDS-related wasting have the money and the approvals. All they need is the drug.
Three recent reports describe the first in vivo attempts at fetal gene therapy. The results underline the need for more intensive studies of the scientific and ethical implications of this new and perhaps more preventive approach to gene therapy.
The current resurgence of interest in xenotransplantation will result in better definition of the mechanisms responsible for xenograft rejection and should facilitate appropriate therapeutic strategies to provide for long-term graft survival.
Although many genes have been linked to inherited retinal disorders, it is difficult to explain how specific mutations can cause such a wide variety of phenotypes.
Predicting how proteins fold from their amino acid sequence is largely a matter of guesswork. But the rules may be written into the genetic code (pages 894–901).
A recent paper suggests that supplementing the diet with large amounts of vitamin A may overcome some inherited blindness. But it also raises some serious questions.
