FREE ESSAY ON THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

Human Genome Project, international scientific collaboration, the goal of which is to gain
a basic understanding of the entire genetic content, or genome, of a human being (see
Genetics; Heredity). This genetic information is found in each cell of the body, encoded
in the chemical deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The project is intended to identify all the
genes in the nucleus of a human cell; to establish, by a process known as mapping, where
those genes are located on the chromosomes in the nucleus; and to determine, by a process
known as sequencing, the order of the DNA's chemical subunits encoding the genetic
information.
The ultimate goal of genomic mapping and sequencing is to associate specific human traits
and inherited diseases with particular genes at precise locations on the chromosomes. The
successful completion of the genome project promises to revolutionize both therapeutic
and preventive medicine by providing insights into the basic biochemical processes that
underlie many human diseases.
The idea of undertaking a coordinated study of the human genome arose from a series of
scientific conferences held between 1985 and 1987. The Human Genome Project began in
earnest in the United States in 1990 with the expansion of funding from the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy (DOE). Many other nations have
official human genome research programs as part of this informal collaboration.
II. The Human Genome 
The human genome is composed of about 50,000 to 100,000 genes located on the 23 pairs of
chromosomes in a human cell and each including many chemical compounds called bases. DNA
codes genetic information in base pairs. The DNA being analyzed in the Human Genome
Project typically comes from small samples of blood or tissue obtained from many
different people. Although the genes in each person's genome are made up of unique DNA
sequences, the average variation in the genomes of two different people is estimated to
be much less than 1 percent.
III. Project Status 
When completed, the Human Genome Project will have generated a catalog describing 50,000
to 100,000 human genes at some level of detail; high-resolution maps of the chromosomes;
and billions of base pairs of DNA sequence information. As of early 1996, more than 4000
genes had been mapped at least to a specific chromosome; 1600 genes of known function had
been cloned (see Clone); 1000 genetic diseases had been associated with a defect in a
mapped gene; and more than 150 million base pairs of human DNA had been sequenced. The
ultimate goal of the Human Genome Project is to sequence all 3 billion base pairs by the
year 2005.
As the genes associated with some hereditary diseases have been identified in recent
years, better genetic screening tests, new drugs, and genetic therapies to fight these
illnesses have become possible. However, increased knowledge of the human genome also has
many controversial ethical, legal, and social implications.