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| What is the Human Genome? |
| The human genome refers to the full collection of genetic material needed to produce a human being. It can be thought of as the instruction manual for building a human, with all the information coded into DNA molecules. The human genome consists of a total of about 3 billion DNA base pairs that is packaged into 23 chromosome pairs. There are an estimated 20,000-25,000 genes in the human genome and scientists are busy investigating what all these genes do and how they interact with each other. In order to help investigate the human genome a major international project was planned in the mid 1980s to define the precise sequence of DNA making up the human genome. |
| What is the Human Genome Project? |
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The Human Genome Project (HGP) was formally launched in 1990 by the U.S. Dept. of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. Scientists in laboratories all over the world worked together to gather as much information as possible on the human genome.
The aims of the project were to:
1. Identify the 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA
2. Determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA
3. Store this information on a computer database
4. Improve tools for data analysis
5. Address the ethical, legal and social issues that may arise from the project
6. Transfer related technologies to the private sector.
The Human Genome Project has been a major success and the entire human genome has now been sequenced and the information stored on a huge database. Now, scientists all over the world can access this database to understand more about the genome and co-ordinate their research more effectively. This has led to major advances in understanding human genetics, how our bodies work, and how diseases develop.
In the future, it is hoped that the knowledge gained by the understanding of the genome will boost the fields of medicine and biotechnology, eventually leading to cures for cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other diseases. |
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| What are the benefits of the HGP? |
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The completion of the HGP marks a new era in biomedical research and clinical medicine. Armed with genetic information from the HGP, scientists have now identified many genes associated with particular diseases, which in turn brings them closer to finding a cure or treatment for diseases like cancer. In the near future, researchers will also be able to devise new and improved techniques for detecting disease, design new drugs for treating disease and may even be able to treat people by replacement of defective genes through gene therapy.
In addition, the HGP has lead to great advances in environmental biology (e.g. investigating the use of microbes as a source of fuel), forensics (e.g. examining DNA evidence left at crime scenes) and evolutionary science (e.g. examining our DNA to help trace our human ancestry). |
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| Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis |
Highly developed reproductive technologies enable parents and doctors to screen embryos for genetic disorders and select healthy embryos. Parents who have a history of genetically inherited disease are offered this service in the UK.
It is feared that such advances in genetic technologies will allow parents to modify embryos and choose desirable traits and cosmetic characteristics in the future-designer babies |
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