DNA is like a recipe. Just like we can change the combination of ingredients in a recipe to get a different dish, we can change the arrangements of nucleotides in DNA to get a different trait. Hence, we don't look like an octopus, and an octopus doesn't look like an orchid.

What about traits we wish we didn't have? We're not really talking about our family's signature nose or ear hair long enough to braid. We're talking about real problems, like cancer or congenital heart disease. Those came from DNA, too. What if we could change the DNA so those problems weren't, well, problems anymore? Sounds good to us.

It sounded good to scientists too, and they began experimenting to see if they could change the sequence of genes in bacteria and viruses (which are much easier to work with, and not such an ethical minefield to boot). Sure enough, after lots and lots of testing, they were able to create bacteria and viruses that were able to produce the same chemical products as the human body, such as insulin. Scientists thought that if they could make bacteria and viruses produce human products, then why couldn't they make human cells produce human products? Yep, back to the lab they went.

Scientists were able to eventually figure out the "how" in performing gene therapy, but there are still many questions about the "should." There are ethical issues to consider when testing gene therapies on humans. Since this is a relatively new field, there is little evidence of the effects of gene therapy over the long term. Also, many experiments are still in the stages of peer review.

Gene therapy offers many promising benefits to humans, but those benefits aren't going to show up overnight. As with most aspects of the scientific method, we'll need to be patient and wait for science to take its course.¹¹