Essay on Uses of the Human Genome Research Project

So what is a human genome and why is the government researching it? The Human genome is the sequence of roughly 20,000 genes that make up human Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), or the building blocks that tell cells what to do. The government project named Human Genome Project (HGP) started in 1990’s, and is trying to unravel the 3 billion chemical base pairs in a DNA strand (http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-science/genetics-molecular-medicine/current-topics/human-genome.shtml.) DNA is made up of phosphates, sugars and amino acids, Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine(C) and Guanine (G). Each amino acid is paired with its opposite, A is always paired with T and C with G. These pairing in a specific order make codes†¦show more content†¦So you could prevent a disease by early detection, environmental changes, or by use of vaccines (Walker, pg 46-47.) For example there is a study trying to prevent peanut allergies, by removing the allergy gene in th e peanuts. Thus there will not be anymore life threatening reactions to peanut consumption. This could mean that many people could get the protein in peanuts without adverse reactions (Fridell, pg 12.) The DNA sequence can be used in forensics, to solve crimes. DNA is left at the crime scene, in the form of dead skin, saliva, or hair and can be analyzed to identify the suspects. In some cases the evidence can convict or even free a suspect. Since DNA is unique it can help to convict criminals, and free innocent persons. This method is called DNA fingerprinting; just like fingerprints each person has unique DNA. When a person is arrested their DNA is taken and mapped. This map is then compared to the evidence and it can, in many cases, solve the crime. For example in the book â€Å"The Making of the Fittest† a 1996 murder trail was overturned. â€Å"In 1979 Dianna Green, nine months pregnant, was severely beaten and her unborn child died from the trauma. Even though she had amnesia and could not spell her name at trail, she testified that her husband, Kevin Green, had inflicted her injuries. Green was convicted of murder and attempted murder. In 1996 workersShow MoreRelatedQ uestions On Human Genome Project1470 Words   |  6 Pages Layan Kojan BIOL 1010 Assignment #3 - Option 2 The Human Genome Project Tuesday November 17, 2015 What makes one person differ from the other? Is it physical appearance, personality or mentality? These three factors separate each individual from one another and it is what makes them different. Physical appearance, personality and mentality are made up from the same building blocks which are known as DNA sequences. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), is a self replicatingRead MoreThe Human Genome Project1460 Words   |  6 PagesGene Essay Assignment: The Human Genome Project A genome is the complete DNA set of an organism. These DNA molecules are made up of two strands. 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This is the most complete set of DNA of the human body. (RePORT) Due to the Human Genome Project and the efforts of the scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute the understanding of the link between genes and disease has greatly increased. Before the project beganRead MoreHuman Genome Project Essay examples504 Words   |  3 PagesHuman Genome Project The Human Genome Project is an international project basically sponsored by the U.S Government. It started in October 1990 with an aim to sequence the entire human genome. The complete set of information present in the form of the genes in an organism forms its genome. Each human being has 23 pairs of chromosomes having DNA double helix in each. The Human Genome Project is a worldwide research effort with the goal of analyzing the structure of humanRead MoreThe Human Genome Project : An American Geneticist1244 Words   |  5 Pages THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT â€Æ' The human genome project has its origins in the mid-1980s, but its intellectual roots stretch back further. Alfred Sturtevant an American geneticist created the first Drosophila gene map in 1911. In 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the double helical structure of the DNA molecule. This discovery was the first crucial step in molecular genome analysis, and in much of the molecular biological research of the last half-century. In the mid-1970s, FrederickRead MoreThe Human Genome Project Is A Scientific Program1357 Words   |  6 PagesThe Human Genome Project was a scientific program aimed at getting to know all of the complementary sequence of base pairs that make up the human genome, containing approximately 30 thousand genes. The project began in 1990 and was originally planned to last 15 years, but rapid technology advances accelerated the completion date to 2003. (WJEC A2 Biology, 2012) says main aims of the project were to: †¢ Identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA. †¢ Determine the sequences of the