The Human Genome Progect

Begun in 1990, the U.S. Human Genome Project is a 13-year effort coordinated by the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The project originally was planned to last 15 years, but effective resource and technological advances have accelerated the expected completion date to 2003. Project goals are to; identify all the (approx) 30,000 genes in human DNA, determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA, store this information in …

…medical treatment and enhancement? Health and environmental issues concerning genetically modified foods (GM) and microbes. Are GM foods and other products safe to humans and the environment? How will these technologies affect developing nations' dependence on the West? Commercialisation of products including property rights (patents, copyrights, and trade secrets) and accessibility of data and materials. Who owns genes and other pieces of DNA? Will patenting DNA sequences limit their accessibility and development into useful products?