THE
HGP
The
Human Genome Project (HGP) is a massive 13-year effort
coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the
National Institutes of Health back in 1990 to identify
all the genes in human DNA and determine the sequences
of the 3 billion chemical bases that make up human
DNA. The project originally was planned to last 15
years, but rapid technological advances have accelerated
the expected completion date to 2003.
The
goals of the HGP are to:
·
Identify all the approximate 30,000 genes in human
DNA,
· Determine the sequences of the 3 billion
chemical base pairs that make up human DNA,
· Store this information in databases,
· Improve tools for data analysis,
· Transfer related technologies to the private
sector, and
· Address the ethical, legal, and social issues
that may arise from the project.
(Source:
Reproduced with permission from http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/project/about.html
)
Knowledge
about the human genome and the effects of DNA variations
among individuals can lead to revolutionary new ways
to diagnose, treat, and someday prevent the thousands
of disorders that affect us. This is a very exciting
project. In June 2000, scientists completed the first
working draft of the entire human genome. President
Clinton, leaders of the Human Genome project (HGP)
and representatives of the biotechnology company Celera
announced the completion of the working draft of the
human genome on June 26th 2000. The mapping of the
human genome is a fundamental milestone in the development
of science and definitely one of the most exciting
and significant event in the 21st century.
In
the words of President Bill Clinton on June 26, 2000:
"We are here to celebrate the completion of the
first survey of the entire human genome. Without a
doubt, this is the most important, most wonderous
map ever produced by humankind....With this profound
new knowledge, humankind is on the verge of gaining
immense new power to heal..."
However,
the release of the draft of the entire human genome
is only the first step towards understanding humans
and humanity. Efforts are still underway to complete
a high-quality, "finished" sequence by 2003.
Currently, only 32.5% of the high quality sequence
is completely sequenced. Investigators believe that
a high-quality sequence is critical for recognizing
regulatory components of genes that are very important
in understanding human biology and such disorders
as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. The finished
version will provide an estimated 8x to 9x coverage
of each chromosome.
Another
issue is that the Human Genome Project made a stunning
announcement: Not only are all human beings very nearly
identical, genetically-speaking, reardless of race,
humans have only 26,000 to 30,000 genes. Previously
it was thought that we had around 80,000 to 100,000
genes. Genes code for and execute instructions for
making the body's proteins from amino acids, essential
nutrients in our diets. The human genome has about
30,000 genes and makes 500,000 or more proteins. It
is therefore believed that proteins also play a key
role in understanding humankind. This has given rise
to the study of proteomics or the study of how proteins
function under different situations.
