Molecular diagnosis and gene therapy are of increasing interest and importance in clinical medicine. The increasing understanding of the pathogenesis of human diseases at the molecular level opens new perspectives for their diagnosis, prevention and therapy. The first part of this book, the proceedings of Falk Symposium No. 88 'Molecular Diagnosis and Gene Therapy', held in Basel, Switzerland, October 22-23, 1995, is aimed at an in-depth understanding of the methodology of molecular diagnosis by hybridization analysis, polymerase chain reaction and others. Further, the applications and limitations of these technologies in clinical medicine for the detection of genetic, malignant and infectious diseases are reviewed. In the second part of the book, the basic strategies of gene therapy are presented, including gene transfer and targeting. Further, experimental and clinical applications of gene therapy strategies for the prevention and treatment of hepatic and other diseases are presented. Molecular diagnosis and gene therapy are clearly going to be key elements of clinical medicine after the year 2000. In this sense, the book should allow basic scientists as well as clinicians to be informed about the state-of-the-art of molecular diagnosis and gene therapy and should provide a perspective for future developments in molecular medicine.