The New Healers The Promise and Problems of Molecular Medicine in the Twenty-First Century

Science and medicine have provided us with clues to the treatment of a few genetic diseases, although by their very nature they have never been considered curable. But, as William R. Clark shows, that is about to change through one of the most profound revolutions in modern medicine: gene therapy, a branch of the new field of molecular medicine. Clark takes us to the laboratories which have been able to isolate human genes, to make billions of copies of them, and to reintroduce healthy genes into unfortunate individuals who have inherited damaged or functionless genes. The New Healers outlines the powerful logic behind molecular medicine: everything we know about molecular biology tells us that it can work, and that it will work. Clark introduces us to the scientists working now to map out the entire human genome, taking human beings to a completely new level of understanding of our biological selves. Clark also helps us to begin thinking about how we will manage that understanding, and how we will use the information we gain. The New Healers is a clear and compelling introduction to this important new frontier of human medicine.

William R. Clark is Professor Emeritus of Immunology at UCLA. An internationally recognized authority on cellular immune responses, he is the author of At War Within: The Double Edged Sword of Immunity and Sex and the Origins of Death.