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Summary In gene therapy, the damaged or defective chromosomes of
an individual patient are corrected by the addition of new
genes introduced into the patient's DNA. This is a dangerous
and controversial technique, on the cutting edge of medical
science. "GermLine" gene therapy is even more radical.
By altering the reproductive cells, the germ cells, of a
single individual, you can forever change the genetic makeup
of that person--and all of his or her future descendants!
But who should control such an awesome power? The government?
The medical establishment? Or a hidden conspiracy of the
rich and powerful? Dr.
Kevin Kincaid, a brilliant scientist whose life has been
scarred by personal tragedy, is on the verge of a major breakthrough.
After years of research and experimentation, he has developed
a biological vector capable of introducing new genes into
the germ cells of unborn children while they are still in
their mothers' wombs. With this vector, doctors will be able
to eradicate genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis and
Down syndrome for all generations to come. But Kincaid's
discovery also raises the specter of wholesale genetic engineering,
of changing the very nature of humanity itself, which attracts
the attention of dangerous forces, including a ruthless government
agency, an international conspiracy of wealthy industrialists,
and radical terrorists who will stop at nothing, including
murder, to keep Kincaid's breakthrough from transforming
the world as we know it. Soon the targeted scientist finds
himself at the center of a covert war to control the future
of human evolution. Betrayed and deceived by those closest
to him, he can trust no one-not even a mysterious woman who
bears an uncanny resemblance to his long-dead wife. . . .
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