The Implications Of The Human Genome Project On Human Health

Development in personalized medicine could greatly influence the current standards of diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. The Human Genome Project guaranteed a revolution in the individualized treatment concept. Just as a person’s characteristics are unique to their genomic information, the origin to a disease could be correlated with the genomic sequences unique to that person. An advantage of such a therapeutic approach is diagnosing the possible susceptibility to a disease and preventing this outcome by providing drug therapies much before its outbreak.

Over the last 10 years scientists have been involved in the progression and completion of the Human Genome Project. "Scientists working on this project have developed detailed maps that identify the

Genetics can help answer questions about our traits and why we look different and advance in different ways from each other in the world. Chapter 1 explains the basics about how genes work, and the portrayal of DNA and RNA. Chapter 2 describes RNA more in detail and it consist of the explanation of the human genome. Specifically, Chapter 3 clarifies how evolution works and how it relates to genetic and medical research. Furthermore, Chapter 4 and 5 explains the knowledge researchers have about genes role in health and diseases, and how society is affected with the advances in medicine and science given approximate credit to these researchers.

Our incessant curiosity for knowledge and answers has prompted the intricate research institutions we know today. Among the volumes of research, scientists have searched for innovations to better understand the human body and edge closer to more individualized medicine. In 1990, breakthroughs in genetic technology allowed for researchers to begin a quest to map and understand all the genes of human beings. A mere 13 years later and just shy of $3 billion invested the Human Genome Project successfully mapped the billions of base pairs involved. With the ability to diagnose specific abnormalities, researchers and medical professionals have saved hundreds of ill children to which their survival was indefinite. However, with scientists continuing

The Human Genome Project, also known as HGP has helped our society crack the code in the small differences between human DNA that make up our health and can already pinpoint future illnesses. HPG was an international joint research preparation with the goal of mapping and trying to understand all the human genes sequences through generations. Researchers have been able to decode our genomes and understand them in three different ways. First off they have been able to see that our genome’s DNA has a certain order, and that order helps make up who we are; Secondly they are able to map where certain genes are and where they are located on the chromosomes. And third, being able to produce “linkage maps” that can help track inherited traits

For many years now, Scientists have struggled to help medical practitioners treat their patients according to their symptoms and provided customized healthcare on a personal basis. However, how personal can medicine get? In 2003, researchers obtained a complete human genome from which the sequence and map of all genes in the human body can be used as a reference. With this development we are a step closer to treating cancer and other diseases.

First, human medical advances are discovered each day. One way of achieving these goals are comprehending the human DNA and how it functions. Another scientific approach is to uncover the potential key to the genetic break down that causes biological aspects to human diseases. The encoding of this information could give insights of the causes and may allow advance medical treatment to intervene earlier in the disease pathways and possibly find a cure. These advances may be the significant aspects to regulating

Recent research in genetic science has shown that some people have variations in their genetic make-up that can cause a reaction to a drug. Pharmacogenetics, also known as pharmacogenomics, studies the way that your genetic characteristics affect the assimilation and effectiveness of drugs in your body.

Today we live in a very technologically advanced society. Scientists are continually discovering new things about the world and the way things work. "In the 1980ís, it was becoming increasingly apparent to many scientists that an understanding of basic biology would be greatly enhanced if the detailed structure of DNA was understood" (Mehlman, 1998). Thus began what has become know as The Human Genome Project which is "the mapping of all our

The Human Genome Project also referred to as HGP, has really captivated the world at the birth of the 21st Century and it has surely revolutionized the biology field. The project itself commenced officially in 1990 and scheduled for 15 years duration. HGP is so vast and complicated in nature that the most essential goals of the project had to be narrowed down to six; Identify approximately 30,000 genes in human DNA, determine 3 billion sequences of chemical base pairs which compose human DNA, Storage of developed information in databases, improve data analysis tools, transfer related technologies to the private sector and address the (ELSI) – Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues related to HGP. The total US HGP came with a huge price tag of around 3 billion US dollars.

9-11). This hypothetical model could be used as a comparison model for the whole genome sequencing of humans: the mutations present in the sequenced human genome could be directly related to that of the model for a precise identification of the disease present (Cohen et al, 2008, p. 9-11). The concept of the Human Genome Project has largely affected the conceptualization of the genome model for disease, which would allow pharmacogenomics to excel in its productivity.

The International HapMap Project is a way to research and provide information about specific illnesses that would lead to new findings of preventing, diagnosing, and treating diseases. “The goal of the HapMap Project is to map and understand the patterns of common genetic diversity in the human genome in order to accelerate the search for the genetic cause of human disease” (Thorisson, 2005). They collect DNA and it contains long chains of four chemicals that are adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. Within these chemicals they contain our physical traits, our likelihood of struggling from disease, and the response of our bodies to substances in the environment.

The human genome project is an incredible feat. The significance and contributions of the project to the science world has and will have a significant impact of the way we treat, diagnosis, and prepare for diseases if an individual knows they have a predisposition to it. There are two significant contributions that I believe has been very beneficial to the health field. The first is recording and storing all the new found information on genomics into one database. More importantly though is having this enormous information in a database that is easy to navigate and that is useful to multiple different professional fields of study. With this database health personal can see the genomes of different species and over time can be able to the evolutionary changes of genetics of different species. Health professionals can also take the genome of a patient and compare it to the human genome in the database to see if they have a genetic predisposition to a disease or an abnormal genome to diagnose a disease. “Such detailed, fundamental understanding about our bodies will have profound effects on the ways diseases are diagnosed, on the prevention of disease, and on treatments.” (Collins, McKusick, Jegalian, 2012) With the identification/belief that there are “approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA,” (U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Project, 2014) we have now begun to identify which genes contribute to diseases. The identification of these mutate genes can be recorded

Scientists have used both human and non-human genes in the process of discovering new prescriptions and therapies hence through the use of technology and scientific innovation, realizing that whether the human body is responding to stimuli in the environment such as viruses or toxins, ''All diseases have a genetic component!'' The genome project is also believed to enable high quality personalized medication and avoiding expensive futile drugs which in turn will reduce the adverse effects that occurs due to drug administration.

The Human Genome Project (HGP), an international scientific research project, has educated the public tremendously on various topics concerning DNA and genetics. This study has been beneficial to communities alike. As stated, the HGP sought to identify all the genes in human DNA, determine the sequences of the three billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA, store this information in databases, improve tools for data analysis, transfer related technologies to the private sector, and address the ethical, legal, and social issues that may arise from the project. In favor of achieving these goals, scientists studied the genetic makeup of several nonhuman organisms (Human Genome Management Information System, 2011).