The Human Genome Project

Human Genome Project, international scientific collaboration, the goal of which is to gain a basic understanding of the entire genetic content, or genome, of a human being (see Genetics; Heredity). This genetic information is found in each cell of the body, encoded in the chemical deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The project is intended to identify all the genes in the nucleus of a human cell; to establish, by a process known as mapping, where those genes …

…more than 150 million base pairs of human DNA had been sequenced. The ultimate goal of the Human Genome Project is to sequence all 3 billion base pairs by the year 2005. As the genes associated with some hereditary diseases have been identified in recent years, better genetic screening tests, new drugs, and genetic therapies to fight these illnesses have become possible. However, increased knowledge of the human genome also has many controversial ethical, legal, and social implications.