A bioinformatics project that has identified the 30,000 genes in human DNA. Coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Human Genome Project started in 1990 and released its findings in February 2001 along with findings from a separate project by Celera Genomics Group. There are similar projects in other countries as well. The purpose is to store the three billion chemical base pairs (the DNA sequence) derived from these analyses in databases for use in biomedical research. See micro array.
The End Goal
The goal of the Human Genome Project is to determine the relationships between DNA makeup and human traits and predispositions. Although sequencing costs are extremely expensive today, it is expected that when the cost to sequence an individual reaches $1,000, it will enable a new field of "personalized genomics" to dramatically alter the course of medicine. See Personal Genome Project.
A Human Component Dictionary
This information is not a blueprint of the human being, rather it is a dictionary of components. Once believed that each gene made only one protein, it is now believed that each gene creates numerous proteins, although this information is expected to take years to determine. Part of the U.S. government project is to study the ethical and legal impact that this information will have on society. An abundance of information can be found at www.genome.gov.
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