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cystic fibrosis

(Encyclopedia)cystic fibrosis sĭsˈtĭk fībrōˈsĭs [key], inherited disorder of the exocrine glands (see gland), affecting children and young people; median survival is 25 years in females and 30 years in males...

gene therapy

(Encyclopedia)gene therapy, the use of genes and the techniques of genetic engineering in the treatment of a genetic disorder or chronic disease. There are many techniques of gene therapy, all of them still in expe...

Zika virus

(Encyclopedia)Zika virus zēˈkə [key], single-stranded RNA virus of the genus flavivirus that infects human and primates and causes a disease known as Zika fever or zika. It is primarily transmitted by the bite o...

embryo screening

(Encyclopedia)embryo screening, procedure (see genetic testing) in which a single cell is removed from an embryo two or three days after it has been conceived through in vitro fertilization and tested for genetic a...

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

(Encyclopedia)amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) āˌmīətrōfˈik, sklĭrōˈsĭs [key] or motor neuron disease, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, degenerative disease that affects motor neurons in the brai...

beriberi

(Encyclopedia)beriberi bĕrˈēbĕrˈē [key], deficiency disease occurring when the human body has insufficient amounts of thiamine (vitamin B1). The deficiency may result from improper diet (e.g., ingestion of hi...

Ebola virus

(Encyclopedia)Ebola virus ēbōˈlə [key], a virus of the genus Ebolavirus, which belongs to a family (Filoviridae) of RNA viruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers. The viruses, named for a river in Congo (Kinshasa) ...

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