Trivia 1993

Bombed
25 February, New York City: A massive bomb exploded in a car park underneath the twin towers of the World Trade Center (then the second tallest building in the world). 7 people were killed and more than 300 injured in the incident.

Signed
13 Sept, Washington DC: A historic treaty between Israel and Palestine, giving Palestinians limited autonomy in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The treaty is the first step toward a lasting peace in the Middle East. Related Article

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Human Genome Project

On 1 October 1993, a pan to map and sequence the entire genetic structure of human DNA was lunched at a San Diego conference.

Planned for many years, the Human Genome Project has two aims: to draw up maps of the genome to pinpoint where all the key genes are as well as to work out the sequence of all the bases, including the ones that seem to have no function. ("junk" DNA).

Although scientists in other countries will also contribute, the project is to be undertaken by the US Department of Energy. Dr James Watson, one of the scientists who discovered the structure of DNA in 1953, has been appointed to run the program, expected to run up costs of upward of several billion dollars and last at least 10 years.

The results of the Project are expected to transform our knowledge of the human body and how it functions, giving scientists the information they need to understand the basis of disease and heredity, enabling the development of gene therapy for genetically-linked diseases.

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