Human Genome Project
What is the Human Genome Project? The Human Genome Project (HGP) is
an
international research program designed to construct detailed genetic
and
physical maps of the human genome, to determine the complete nucleotide
sequence
of human DNA, to localize the estimated 80,000 genes within the
human genome,
and to perform similar analyses on the genomes of several other
organisms used
extensively in research laboratories as model systems. This
project is estimated
to take 15 years to complete from October 1990 and has
already cost the U.S. 2.5
billion dollars. The scientific products of the HGP
will comprise a resource of
detailed information about the structure,
organization and function of human
DNA, information that is the basic set
of inherited instructions for the
development and functioning of a human
being. What is the overall goal of the
Project? In September, advisory
committees at DOE and NIH approved new 5-year
goals aimed at completing the
Human Genome Project two years earlier than
originally planned in 1990. The
new plan, published in the October 23, 1998
issue of Science, covers fiscal
years 1999-2003 and calls for generating a
"working draft" of the human
genome DNA sequence by 2001 and obtaining
the complete and highly accurate
reference sequence by 2003. A new goal focuses
on identifying regions of the
human genome that differ from person to person.
Although the vast
majority of our DNA sequences are the same, scientists
estimate that humans
are 99.9% identical genetically. These DNA sequence
variations can have a
major impact on how our bodies respond to disease,
environmental insults,
such as bacteria, viruses, toxins, drugs and other
therapies. Other major
goals outlined in the plan include exploring the
functions of human genes
using methods that include comparing human DNA
sequences with those from
organisms such as the laboratory mouse and yeast. Then
they must address the
ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding genetic
tools and data, develop
the computational capability to collect, store, and
analyze DNA. If
successful, the completion of the human DNA sequence in 2003
will be the 50th
anniversary of Watson and Crick's description of the
fundamental structure of
DNA. Already revolutionizing biology, genome research
provides a vital thrust
to the increasing productivity and pervasiveness of the
life sciences.
Current and potential applications of genome research address
national needs
in molecular medicine, waste control and environmental
cleanup,
biotechnology, energy sources, and risk assessment. Scientific
Processes
Chromosomes, which range in size from 50 million to 250 million
bases are broken
into very short pieces. Each short piece is used as a
template to generate a set
of fragments that differ in length from each other
by a single base (template
preparation and sequencing reaction steps). Now
the fragments in a set are
separated by gel electrophoresis. Then fluorescent
dyes allow separation of all
four fragments in a single lane on the gel. The
final base at the end of each
fragment is identified (base calling step).
This process recreates the original
sequence of As, Ts, Cs, and Gs for each
short piece generated in the first step.
Current electrophoresis limits
are about 500-700 bases sequenced per read.
Automated sequences analyze
the resulting electropherograms and the result is a
four-color chromatogram
showing peaks that represent each of the 4 DNA bases.
After the bases are
read by a computer, another computer is used to assemble the
short sequences
in blocks of about 500 bases each, called the read length into
long
continuous stretches that are analyzed for errors, gene-coding regions,
and
other characteristics. Finished sequence is submitted to public
sequence
databases, such as GenBank. Now The Human Genome Project sequence
data is made
free to anyone around the world who would like to view it.
Benefits of the
completed Project This project will be a great jump in
understanding human genes
which will provide us with many answers we would
like to know, and many that we
haven't thought about yet. Genome maps of
other organisms will provided so we
can compare them to the human genome and
let us compare and understand other
biological systems. Information generated
and technologies developed will
revolutionize future biological explorations.
Genes involved in various genetic
diseases will be found, and further studies
will lead to an understanding of how
those genes contribute to genetic
diseases. Among these diseases will be the
genes involved in cancer. Medical
practices will be altered when new clinical
technologies based on DNA
diagnostics are combined with information coming from
genome maps.
Researchers will be able to identify individuals predisposed to
particular
diseases and come up with therapeutic practices based on new classes
of
drugs, immunotherapy techniques, avoidance of environmental conditions
that
may trigger disease, and possible replacement of defective genes through
gene
therapy. Another benefit will come from understanding genetic
similarities
between mammals and humans. There isn't that much difference
between human
biology and cattle or mouse biology. What we learn about human
genetics will
help us to raise healthier, more productive, disease-resistant
farm animals that
might, through wise and careful genetic engineering,
produce drugs of value to
us. Technologies, databases, and biological
resources developed in genome
research will have an enormous impact on a wide
variety of biotechnology-related
industries in such fields as agriculture,
energy production, waste control, and
environmental cleanup. The potential
for commercial development presents U.S.
industry with a great deal of wealth
and opportunities from sales of
biotechnology products. The Criticism With
all the benefits people tend to
forget about a lot the things that could hurt
our way of life by uncovering this
information. This new information could be
used to take biological warfare to a
new level that is incomprehensible. It
could also create a form of genetic
racism that could separate countries and
states. There are some less serious but
still very important legal and social
and ethical issues that will also need to
be addressed. One of the major
ethical issues is if we will allow this
technology to be used to genetically
engineer a so called "Super
Race". In my opinion I don't think messing
human nature in this way is a
good idea at all. It could cause less genetic
diversity which makes humans what
they are. There's also the big picture of
over population and how it could ruin
our planet. Nature has to take it's
course even with this technology unless we
can figure out how to make other
planets inhabitable for humans. Genetic
Information Discovered So Far
According to the Genome Database (GDB), the public
repository for human
genome mapping information, over 7600 genes had been mapped
to particular
chromosomes in January 1999. Tens of thousands of human gene
fragments have
been identified as expressed sequence tags (EST's). These are
also being
assigned to positions on chromosome maps The physical mapping goal is
to
establish a marker every 100,000 bases across each chromosome (about
30,000
markers). The most complete map yet was published in summer 1997 and
featured
about 8000 landmarks, which provided about twice the resolution of
previous
maps. Similarly detailed maps have been produced for a few
individual
chromosomes, but this map offers landmarks across the entire human
genome that
are also positioned relative to each other. Currently an
estimated 5% of the
human genome has actually been sequence. My Opinion In my
opinion I believe that
the information found by the Human Genome Project is
going to be a useful tool
for our future, and well worth the billions of
dollars it is costing us. But
there will need to be laws made to protect it
from being misused. It should be
used to cure diseases by gene therapy and to
better our lives with this
technology. It shouldn't be used to make a "Super
Breed" of humans or
cloning. The information should also be banned from being
used in the military.
If this information is not used improperly I
believe it will better our
lives.