Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project is a scientific research effort to analyze the DNA of human beings and several other lower types of organisms. The project was established in the United States in 1990 under the endorsement of the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health and was anticipated to be completed in the year 2005. The ultimate goal of this effort is to identify and locate the chromosomes of every human gene and to determine each gene's meticulous chemical structure in order to interpret its function in health and disease. But the main goal of the Human Genome Project is to map out the location of all genes on every chromosome and to determine the systematic sequence of nucleotides of the entire genome. Every cell of an organism has a set of chromosomes containing the heritable genetic material that edifies its development. The genetic material of chromosomes is DNA. The paired strands of the DNA molecule are an array of nucleotides, or bases, of which there are four types-adenine, cytosine, thymine, and guanine. Genes are simply just short fragments of DNA that carry the information the cell uses to assemble particular protein. If by chance the DNA code becomes distorted, the cell may make the wron
The flaws in our genes are responsible for an approximated 3000 to 4000 hereditary diseases, such as Huntington's disease, cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and others. What's more is that altered genes are now known to play a part in cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and many other common diseases. In some of these more common disorders, genetic alterations increase a person's risk of developing that disorder. The disease itself triggers from the collaboration of such genetic preconceptions and environmental factors, including diet and lifestyle. Over the next 15 or 20 years the Human Genome Project will create tools to identify the genes involved in both rare and common diseases. These new discoveries, will in turn, bring adjustments in early detection and treatment of disease and new outlooks to prevention. Once the molecular basis of a disease is discovered, scientists will have a far better chance of defeating it. One strategy is to compose highly-targeted drugs that act on the cause, not simply the symptoms of the disease. Another idea is to correct the altered gene through gene therapy. But even before that, gene discovery can lead to future tests that can predict a person's likelihood of getting the disease long before symptoms appear. Because of such concerns, the Human Genome Project has devoted about 5% of its budget to research directed at anticipating and resolving the ethical, legal, and social issues likely to arise from this research. While this information would have the potential to dramatically improve human health, collaborators also realized that it would raise a number of complex ethical, legal, and social issues. Activities that examin
Some common words found in the essay are:
Genome Project, Institutes Health, genetic information, human genome, genome project, human genome project, Human Genome, legal social issues, ethical legal social, genetic information including, common diseases, gene therapy, genes involved, gene discovery, colon cancer, genetic material, cystic fibrosis,
Approximate Word count = 1163
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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