Human Genome Project A genome is defined as the complete collection of an
organisms genetic material. The human genome is composed of about 50,000 to
100,000 genes located on 23 pairs of chromosomes in a human cell. It is said
that a single human chromosome may contain more than 250 million DNA base
pairs, and it is estimated that the entire human genome consists of about 3
billion base pairs. The DNA is gathered through blood samples taken from many
different people. Though each person has a unique set of DNA the difference in
a given pair of samples is less than 1 percent making the differences pale in
comparison to the similarities. The Human Genome Project is an international
collaboration of scientists who’s goal is to gain a basic understanding of the genetic
blueprint of a human being. This information is found in each cell of the body,
encoded in the DNA. The intent of this project is to identify all genes in the
nucleus of a human cell, to map where those genes are on the chromosomes of the
nucleus, and to determine the seqeuncing or the order of these chemical
subunits of the DNA. The idea to undertake such a project was came about
through a series of scientific conferences held between 1985 and 1987. The
actual project ,however, did not begin until 1990 with the expansion of funding
from the NIH and DOE. There are many nations involved with this project as part
of an informal pact including France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and
many other european nations. Also in an effort to speed up the mapping and
sequencing process several private companies have been enlisted to help such as
Celera Genomics. Today there is a lot of research being done under the umbrella
of the Human Genome Project. For instince gene therapy is being developed as a
very real cure for such hereditary diseases as Cystic Fibrosis and Parkinsons
where somewhere in the genetic make up of the body there is a glich tht alows
the nervous tissue of the brain to deteriorate at a slow but steady rate. With
gene therapy we will be able to replace the tissue in the brain with correctly
funtioning tissue from an animal such as a pig. As of early 1999 the Human
Genome Project was ahead of schedule. There is said to be nearly 10 percent of
the genome sequenced already or about 7,600 genes have been mapped to
particular chromosomes. Also, researchers have sequenced the complete genomes
of several other organisms such as E. Coli . This should help scientists to
find parallels between our genes and the genes of other organisms. When completed
this project will reap great rewards for the time and effort put in. Biologists
will be able to look at detailed DNA information that will help in
understanding the structure, organization, and function of DNA in chromosomes.
Genome maps of other creatures will provide a way for scientists to learn more
about more complex biological systems such as our own. In other words this
information will revolutionize the future biological studies. There are however
some controversial issues raised by the findings of this study. One worry is
that soon we will be able to clone humans for body parts in order to save
lives. On the surface this seems like a good idea however if put in the wrong
hands this information could be used to make clones of armies for unstable countries
or it could be used to clone those people who had bad influences on history
such as hitler. Besides this issue there is a religious question that is
raised. Should we as humans be able to play god and create life or should we
let sleeping dogs lie and leave this project alone. Though there seems to be
many scary implications to the continuation of this project there is little
doubt that it won’t be completed. After doing the research for this project and
learning about the implications of this project I feel that we should continue
in good faith and hope that the technology is never used for non-medicinal
purposes. My grandmother suffers from parkinsons disease and there is nothing I
would like more than to see a cure developed through gene therepy for her
disease and others like it. In my opinion this project should continue full
steaam ahead until it is finished.
Bibliography
Bibliography The National Human Genome Research Institute Website
http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/Policy_and_public_affairs/Communications/Publications/Maps_to_medicine/about.html
Starr and Taggart. Biology The Unity and Diversity of Life Eighth Edition.
Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998. Human Genome Project Information
Website http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/project/update.html Starr and Taggart.
Companion Compact Disc to Biology The Unity and Diversity of Life Eighth
Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998. Human Genome Research
Website http://www.er.doe.gov/production/ober/hug_top.html
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