Because of FDA's strong involvement in the regulation of human gene therapy products, it is important for consumers to know what FDA is doing to protect them in this area, how FDA is doing it, and how the agency is responding to concerns that human gene therapy, instead of helping patients, may be dangerous and may put patients at risk. Human genes are very small particles pieces of informationof genetic material recorded on a molecule called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, that tells housed in the body that tell the body how to operate. Genes also determine certain physical characteristics, such as eye color,, and are passed on from parents to children. Genes are believed to play a role in some cancers, either by stimulating the growth of cancer cells or by failing to stop them before they grow out of control. These cells are too small for you to see with your eye - you must use a microscope.
Every cell contains a nucleus , which is even smaller, but still visible under a microscope.
The cell nucleus contains an even smaller set of chromosomes , which can only be detected with special laboratory techniques. Every chromosome contains DNA, the genetic material that is unique for each living creature. Along the DNA lie thousands of genes , which are smaller yet. We can detect genes only by advanced analytical techniques such as gene sequencing methods that are currently being used to map the entire human genome. In the future, gene doctors would use a variety of techniques, some similar to current vaccinations, to inject normal genes into a person's body.