The Human Genome project
|
|||||||||
|
In
October of 1990, the Human Genome Project (HGP) was begun, which was designed
to discover the 30,000 to 35,000 human genes in the genome. Once all of the genome has been mapped out,
scientists will get to work in sequencing the approximately 3,000,000,000 DNA
subunits. The Project was originally
scheduled to last for 15 years, but technological advances have brought its
completion to 2003. Parallel to the
HGP, studies are being done on model organisms such as E. coli to help
interpret human gene function. The
Department of Energy’s HGP and the National Institutes of Health’s National
Human Genome Research institute make up the U. S. HGP. Though a full rough draft of the human genome
was completed in June of 2000, the project is still working on a refined,
high quality sequence. The project is
estimated to have a final cost of $3,000,000,000, and when it is completed in
2003, it will coincide with the 50-year anniversary of the Watson and Crick
model of DNA. |
|||||||||
|
The
difference between a draft sequence and a refined sequence is in the number
of times the sequence is checked. In
a draft, each chromosomal area is checked 4 or 5 times, which allows the DNA
to be reassembled in the proper order.
In a high-quality sequence, the area is checked 8 to 9 times to ensure
that there would be only 1 error for every 10,000 bases. Thus far, finished sequences have been
completed for only chromosomes 21 and 22. |
|||||||||
|
By
having a finished human genome, scientists will be able to better understand
the function of each gene in the workings of an organism. Custom drugs would be able to be
administered better, genes that predispose a person to a disease would be
identified, allowing for early treatment, and even forensic science stands to
be bettered by the full mapping of the human genome. |
|||||||||