The Ethics of Human Gene Therapy

by LeRoy Walters and Julie Gage Palmer

The authors of this absorbing new book describe the science of gene therapy in terms easily accessible to the non-specialist, and focus on the controversial ethical and public policy issues surrounding human interventions in human heredity. After a brief survey of the structure and functions of DNA, genes, and cells, Walters and Palmer discuss three major types of potential genetic intervention: somatic cell gene therapy, germ line gene therapy, and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195059557
• ISBN13: 9780195059557
• Release Date: November 1996
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Solid and compelling

Walters and Palmer present here a solid argument regarding the impending technology of human gene therapy. They walk through the science carefully, but the core of the book is on the development of criteria for when trials in gene therapy would be acceptable. While this reviewer does not agree with every stand they take, the book will be a classic in the ethics of gene therapy because of its careful argument and thorough analysis.