New Lipid Molecule Holds Promise for Gene Therapy.

(From AScribe)

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have created a new molecule that holds promise in fighting disease via gene therapy. Inherited diseases, as well as many cancers and cardiovascular diseases, may eventually be helped by this approach, which delivers therapeutic genes directly to cells. These genes can correct genetic defects, for example, or help the body's immune system fight cancer cells.

For more than two decades, gene delivery has been accomplished by using engineered viruses as a vehicle to get into diseased cells and 70 percent of clinical trials worldwide continue to use this method. But, the viruses used for gene …