A four-year-old child is diagnosed with a hereditary disease caused by the absence of a functional gene. To treat this condition, doctors introduce a normal, healthy gene into the cells and tissues of the child to take over the function of and compensate for the non-functional gene. This specific biotechnological approach is known as:

Step-by-step solution

The scenario describes the insertion of genes into an individual's cells and tissues to treat a disease, specifically a hereditary disease. This process is the exact definition of gene therapy. It involves the delivery of a normal gene into the individual or embryo to take over the function of and compensate for the non-functional gene. Molecular diagnosis is used for the early detection of diseases (e.g., using PCR or ELISA). Gene cloning is the laboratory process of making identical copies of a specific DNA segme