Drug treatment / Gene therapy

        If a person becomes sick with disease, he/she is subjected to the action of antibiotics, which can kill bacteria. The antibiotics are, however, useful in bacterial disease and that only when bacteria have not developed resistance to antibiotics. In cancer, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are also used. In radiotherapy, the cancerous part is exposed to short wave radiations from the radioactive material repeatedly at regular intervals. In Pakistan there are several centers which are carrying out radiotherapy to control cancer. Chemotherapy consists of administrating certain anticancer chemicals to the patients at regular intervals. These chemicals may kill both cancerous and normal cells.

       Recently a new technique has been developed to repair defective genes. This consists of isolating the normal gene and inserting it into the host through bone marrow cells. It is a gene therapy.

       Combating disease utilizing all methods as and when required and ensuring a participation of community in this programme is known as integrated disease management. This requires awareness of the community about the severity of the problem, its causes and its remedies. This is a very effective programme for elimination and control of dangerous diseases from the human society.

       Besides its contribution to food production and health of man, biology has discovered a number of means and developed technologies for the welfare of mankind as for example cloning, protection and conservation of environment etc.

Cloning: Cloning is a technology for acheiving eugenic aims. A clone is defined as a cell or individual and all  produced offspring. All members of a clone are genetically identical except when a mutation occurs.

       Generally no normal animal reproduces naturally by cloning. Several insects and many plants do, in some circumstances whereas few do so regularly.

        In 1997 scientists in Scotland succeeded in cloning a sheep. Other mammalian species (mice and cows) have since been cloned. In this procedure the nucleus from a fertilized egg is removed and a nucleus from a cell of fully developed individual is inserted in its place. The altered zygote is then implanted in a suitable womb where it completes its development. The new individual formed in this way is a genetically identical clone of the individual whose nucleus was used. Thus cloning could make multiple copies of a desired genotype.

        Another type of cloning is the division of a single egg or early embryo into one or more seperate embryos. This is the same process that normally creates identical twins. Offspring from this type of cloning are genetically identical but carry chromosomes from each of the two parents. This type of cloning has already been used to produce genetically identical cattle and other farm animals.

       Man is likely to adopt cloning techniques for commercial production of valuable animals of known pedigree such as horses etc.

       At some places scientists are making attempts to clone human embryo which they believe can serve as transplant donor. There is a lot of controversy on this issue as to whether human cloning should be attempted or not.