GermLine

A Novel

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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