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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 |