Which of the following is a common application of gene therapy?

The application of gene therapy primarily focuses on treating genetic disorders. This therapeutic approach involves altering the genes inside a person's cells to combat or prevent disease. Genetic disorders arise due to mutations or dysfunctions in specific genes, and gene therapy aims to correct or replace these faulty genes with functional ones. By doing so, it has the potential to alleviate symptoms, modify disease progression, or even cure certain inherited diseases.

Treating genetic disorders encompasses a variety of approaches, such as inserting a healthy copy of a gene into a patient's cells, repairing a mutated gene, or knocking out a malfunctioning gene. This versatility makes gene therapy a groundbreaking method in modern medicine, particularly for conditions like cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and certain types of inherited blindness.

Other options, while relevant in the broader context of biotechnology, do not specifically pertain to gene therapy. Improving crop resilience is more focused on genetic engineering or conventional breeding techniques rather than gene therapy aimed at human health. Creating new microbial strains falls under synthetic biology and microbial engineering, and reducing waste in bioremediation involves environmental biotechnology practices. These applications do not employ the same methodology or goals as gene therapy, which is directly aimed at altering human genes for therapeutic purposes.