Scientists Say: Remission

Remission (noun, “Ree-MISS-shun”)

In medicine, this is a term used to describe a disease that isn’t active anymore. A doctor might use it when she can no longer detect signs of cancer in a patient, for example. Cancer is the rapid, uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. If those cells die, or stop growing and shrink, the disease they cause may be in remission.

There are two types of remission — partial and complete. In partial remission, some of the signs of a disease have disappeared. For cancer, this might mean that the cancer has stopped growing. In complete remission, all signs of a disease are gone. This could mean the disease is cured. But it could also mean that the disease is still present but dormant. 

In a sentence

Scientists edited genes with tiny molecular “scissors” to send a baby girl’s cancer into remission.

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