Cell ablation

Cell ablation (also known as tissue ablation) is a biotechnological tool for studying cell lineage. The process consists of selectively destroying cells in an organism. 
For example, a laser beam or controllable gene promoter for a toxin gene can be used to destroy a selected amount of cells. 
Cell ablation can also be used as a tool to produce transgenic organisms lacking a cell type, and as a cure for certain disorders such as cancer and leukemia. 
The term is not to be confused with genetic ablation: a method of modifying DNA in order to disrupt the production of a specific gene. 