To understand the Human Genome Project, it is vital that you understand what a human genome is. The human genome is a complete set of DNA. Each genome contains all the information it needs to maintain it. In other words, the information required for the maintenance of a genome is found in the genome itself.
Despite research about the human genome, it was still not understood until the foundation of the Human Genome Project. This was an international research effort, which was put up to determine the sequence of the human genome and identify all the genes that are contained in the human genome.
The Human Genome Project was coordinated by the U.S Department of Energy and the National Institute of Health. The project also had a number of contributors, including universities all over the United States. Other countries that had a hand in the project include the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China and Japan among others. The project started in 1990 and is said to have been completed two years ahead of schedule, in 2003. It has been established that the HGP has enabled researchers to better understand the biology and build of the human body. It has enabled researchers to learn more about the body, thus, allowing for improvements in the fields of life science, medicine and biotechnology among others. A better understanding of the Human Genome is expected to help in the development of better treatments for certain diseases.
The Human Genome Project was started with the main goal of providing a complete and accurate sequence of the three billion plus DNA base pairs of the human genome. The project also intended to find all the human genes. In addition, the project was also formed to aid in medical research. Additionally, the HGP also sought to develop new tools of obtaining and analyzing data, so as to make this information available. Notable is the fact that advances in genetics have numerous consequences for society and individuals alike. For this reason, the project sought to explore these consequences by looking at the social, ethical and legal implications of such research.
In 2003, it was announced that the Human Genome Project had been completed. It was announced that the project had completed a sequence of the entire human genome. At its close, the project had closed almost all the gaps that existed in the knowledge about the human genome. The project also managed to identify and locate most of the human genes and provide information about their organization and structure. In addition, all the data and analysis tools of the project were made freely available to all via the internet.
Also, essential to note is that the project not only looked at the human genome, but also looked at the genomes of other organisms. It looked at the genomes of things like the roundworm, brewer’s yeast and the fruit fly among others. Researchers thought that if they studied the human genome and the genomes of other organisms, they could discover the particular genes that are vita for the sustenance of life.