The Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project

"Today we are learning the language in which God created life . . .

humankind is on the verge of gaining immense new power to heal. Genome

science will have a real impact on all our lives, and even more on the

lives of our children. It will revolutionise the diagnosis,

prevention, and treatment of most, if not all, human diseases."

- Bill Clinton, June 2002.

The Human Genome Project came into existence in the late 1980's as

scientist from around the world aimed to map where every human gene is

found on our chromosomes. The Project was a great success as

scientists were successful, but now in order to extend the project,

scientists are trying to work out what each gene codes for. This

information would be vital as it could help ascertain how a particular

gene might be damaged or how mutations on some genes can lead to

illness or disorders. Using such information, faulty genes could be

easily replaced[1].

The idea of undertaking a coordinated study of the human genome arose

from a series of scientific conferences held between 1985 and 1987.

The project got underway in 1990 in the United States and one of the

first directors of the project was American scientist, James Watson -

who was also in 1962 - along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins-

awarded the Nobel Prize Award for the discovery of the structure of

DNA.[2]

The DNA that is used for the Project is that of donors. The DNA is

usually gathered from many donors, but only a few will be processed,

with source names protected. As a result neither the donors nor the

scientists know whose DNA is actually used in the laboratories. Since

the DNA used by the Human Genome Project has come from a number of

donors, the final sequence is a 'reference sequence'. Knowledge

obtained from the human reference sequence will be applicable to

everyone because all humans still share the same basic set of genes.

[3]

Genome sequencing is a very complex process.