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
An approximated 1 million Americans carry misspelled copies of genes that are involved in a hereditary form of colon cancer, which give them a 70% to 80% likelihood of developing colon cancer. Another idea is to correct the altered gene through gene therapy. Then what might happen if a health insurance company or a potential employer learns that an individual is destined to develop Huntington disease and might that person be denied coverage or a job? 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. Theoretical and philosophical implications may be raised by genetics research, such as its implications for concepts as personal identity and disease, the uses and misuses of genetic information in the past and the validity of the historical experience to current practices and policies. This is one of the first times scientists have begun to explore the potential consequences of their research before a crisis has arisen. . 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. 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. The test will open a door to prevention concepts that promise to greatly reduce deaths from this disease. Questions arise as to the fair use of genetic information as it relates to insurance, employment, the criminal justice system, the educational system, adoption, and the military. 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. The reason is that there is no prevention or cure for the disease, and some individuals would rather live their life without the knowledge of being struck with a fatal disease. What will be the impact of genetic information, including information about mental disorders, on the individual and on social groups, including questions of individual and group psychological responses, family relationships, and stigmatization. Thanks to tools surfacing from the project, the rate of the gene discovery has nearly quadrupled. These new discoveries, will in turn, bring adjustments in early detection and treatment of disease and new outlooks to prevention.
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Acceptance Essays
