History of human genome project

When James Watson won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962 for discovering the structure of DNA, he opened up a whole new area of science and research that has led to great strides in medicine, as well as great controversy. Beginning in the 1960's and 1970's, nearly all avenues of biomedical research have led to the gene, for genes containing the basic information about how a human body carries out its duties from conception until …

…result in reluctance of individuals to volunteer for studies involving disease-linked gene mutation or genetic therapy (Collins, 1999). As genome technology moves from the laboratory to the health care setting, new methods will make it possible to read the instructions contained in an individual person's DNA. Such knowledge may foretell future disease and alert patients and their health care providers to undertake better preventative strategies (Collins, 1999), while respecting the diversity in cultures and traditions (Van Ommen, 2002).