Human Genome
It all started back in 1953 with two men by the names of James D. Watson and Francis Crick when they discovered the double-helical structure of DNA. Little did they know they were opening the door to the creation of a perfect world? In 1986, the Human Genome Project, led up by the National Institution of Health (NIH), took a giant leap through this door. Scientists are taking medical technology to new heights as they attempt to map all of the genes, nearly 100,000, in the 23 chromosomes of the human body. The main purpose of the HGP was originally for the use of preventing inherent diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Muscular Dystrophy. They plan to do this by identifying the DNA sequence of an abnormal gene in which a disease originates and comparing it with the data of a normal or healthy gene. However, as studies continue to progress, increased opportunities arise for genetically altering the unborn. "The Human Genome Project" is a large-scale project being conducted by more than 200 laboratories, with even more researchers and labs having joined in. Most of the labs and researchers are located in France and the United States. The project started in 1990 and was slated to take 15
Researchers have successfully located the gene and DNA sequence for Huntington's Disease on Chromosome 4 and have created a genetic test to determine if a person carries this gene. "The child of a person with Huntington's has a 50% chance of inheriting the gene, which inevitably leads to the disease." Once an individual acquires the gene, it is only a matter of time before they acquire the disease. Because the medical costs of treating such persons in terminal illnesses are extremely high, insurance companies who want to stay in business see this genetic test, and others like it, as an opportunity to screen prospective clients for the probability of such diseases. Some people feel that this information gives insurance companies unfair advantage over those covered by medical insurance and point out that release of genetic information to insurance companies puts a severe disadvantage on the person who is screened, as well as violates the patients right to privacy. If this genetic information is not kept safe and confidential, the patient can be labeled as undesirable and the patient may not be able to receive insurance coverage at any price. This also brings up other ethical questions. "Does genetic testing constitute an invasion of privacy, and would it stigmatize those found to have serious inborn deficiencies? Would prenatal testing lead to more abortions? Should anyone be tested before the age of consent?" Many genetic advancements are to come of this research. One biotechnology that will benefit from genetic testing is genetic engineering. It too, may have many social implications depending on what is created from such experimentation. There is also a direct correlation of the sequencing of genes and production of effective drugs on diseases, which may have different strands of defective genes, such as Alzheimer's. Locating these genes would be crucial to synthesizing a product to affect that specific location in the gene. The director of the gene-therapy program at the University of Southern California, Dr. W. French Anderson states, "Twenty years from now, gene therapy will have revolutionized medicine. Virtually every disease will have it as one of its treatments." Such an impact on medic
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1501
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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