Looks Like I'll be able to order Designer Genes any day now....

Check out this article I came across from the UK's Timeonline. It appears that researchers are on the verge of developing medication that while taken daily, will be to offset faulty genes that might cause Muscular Dystrophy or cystic fibrosis. Didn't we see this in X-men 3? I jest of course. According to the article in question:

The drug, known as PTC124, has already had encouraging results in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis. The final phase of clinical trials is to begin this year, and it could be licensed as early as 2009.

As well as offering hope of a first effective treatment for two conditions that are at present incurable, the drug has excited scientists because research suggests it should also work against more than 1,800 other genetic illnesses.

PTC124 targets a particular type of mutation that can cause very different symptoms according to the gene that is disrupted. This makes it potentially useful against a range of inherited disorders.

For more on the daily gene pill, click on the link below:

Daily pill to beat genetic diseases