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1 Introduction: The Human Genome Project is possibly the most important project in the world currently. Several companies and governments are involved with this project. The project has many goals but the main general goal is: to construct a detailed genetic and physical map of the human Genome, to determine the complete nucleotide sequence of human DNA, to localize the estimated 50, 000 - 100, 000 genes within the human Genome, and to perform similar analyses on the Genomes of several other organisms used extensively in research laboratories as model systems. 1 There are a lot of conflicting points regarding these experiments. (Some of which could be the ethical problem of engineering a perfect race. ) Once we can read our own DNA it is just a little amount of time before we can write new DNA. This paper will cover the goals of the project, how they will be accomplished, the impact to our race, and any side effects that it might have. Goals: The Genome project originally created a five year plan with a detailed list of what was to be done in respect to each department. Due to various reasons a new plan had to be created in 1990 because the previous was ahead of schedule and because technology had given us a chance to see further goals.
Some of the increased research factors are: advances in technology and a tightly focused effort 2. The main reason however to create new goals for the Genome project is because when the project originally started out due to lack of knowledge, the goals were not clear as to what could be done. Now, because of the research, and improved technology, the goals can be updated. There were several major technological updates that took place: Among the most notable of these developments have been (i) new types of genetic markers, such as microsatellite's 3, that can be assayed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR); (ii) improved vector systems for cloning large DNA fragments and better experimental strategies and computational methods for assembling those clones into large, overlapping sets (contigs) that compose useful physical maps; (iii) the definition of the sequence tagged site (STS) (5) as a common unit of physical mapping; and (iv) improved technology and automation for DNA sequencing. 4 Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project and Celera Shake Hands Over Plans to Sequence Fruit Fly Genome: The reason it is called Berkeley Drosophila is Im guessing to do with the University in Berkeley California. What has happened is, the Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project, responsible for attempting to map the DNA for the Drosophila has teamed up with Celera Genomics, a business unit of The Perkin-Elmer Corporation (NYSE: PKN), 5 in order to decode and organize the DNA of the Drosophila. The Drosophila has 150 million base-pair Genomes.
A document has been drawn up between the companys called a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), It is also a test of whether a public-private collaboration can expedite and lower the cost of the generation and use of genomic information that will ultimately benefit agriculture, and prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of important human illnesses, the document says. 6 The Drosophila was originally used for study in the 1900 s by Thomas Hunt Morgan. The fly offered up the first information that genes are part of chromosomes. As a result we have a huge understanding of this insect. The fruit fly is apparently also much closer to humans than any other animal so far that we have completely mapped. The scientist at Berkeley have so far about twenty percent of the flys DNA sequenced The Berkeley group will increase their activities in parceling up the fly Genome for sequencing by copying and mapping overlapping DNA pieces that span the flys Genome. 7 The Celera group is taking a new approach to the mapping by using a new method called, whole-genome shotgun sequencing.
This new method will map small, random DNA fragments by using high-throughput machines The groups would then get together and combine their information. This way they hope to create long correct strains of DNA. The fruit flys genome is organized among four chromosomes and is estimated to contain some 12, 000 genes. Genetic experiments in the fly have revealed many important features, including the signals that establish body regions-what, for example, makes the head form at one end of the body and the tail at the other? Genes that control organization of the flys body also have counterparts in humans and can help explain developmental problems that result in birth defects. 8 International Genome Team Deciphers Genetic Instructions for a Complete Animal: On both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, teams have been working steadily on mapping out the DNA for the Caenorhabditis elegans or roundworm. The roundworm has 97 -million base genome and has many of the same systems that humans have: it has a nervous system, digests food, and has sex, grows old, and dies.
The project started in the mid- 1980 s by Robert Waterston and John Sulston it apparently grew and grew after it started, weekly e-mail grew to be flights back and forth. (It is now complete) Though most people have never heard of the short worm with the long name-the animal measures about 1 millimeter from end to end; about 40 of them would span the words Caenorhabditis elegans-they live underfoot daily. C. elegans, as scientists call them, inhabit the dirt in temperate regions. A handful of soil may contain thousands of worms, gliding their way through water droplets trapped between soil particles. Some of its nematode cousins are parasites, but dirt-ranging C. elegans prefer a benign existence among rotting plants.
Back at the lab, the creatures live in petrie dishes on a steady diet of the bacterium E. coli. 9 The worm has its genetic information in six chromosomes. According to the Science report, analysis of the worms genome revealed 19, 099 protein-coding genes-about one every 5, 000 DNA bases-and 800 or so genes that have other functions. This number is much higher than was originally thought.
Apparently forty percent of the genes show pieces of other animals including humans. The other sixty we do not have enough information to understand yet. The chromosomes themselves bare a lage resemblance to human chromosomes in that they have large amounts of repeated DNA DNA that doesnt encode proteins but probably plays some role in chromosome function or organizing genes or regulating their activity. 10 For the Human Genome Project, completing the worm genome is another success in a series of on-rushing milestones. Recently, the project announced it would speed up its effort to complete the 3 billion-base pair human genome sequence two years ahead of time, partly because the worm sequencers had established such successful methods for complex Genomes. 11 NEW GOALS FOR THE U.
S. HUMAN GENOME PROJECT 1998 2003 The National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy have developed their new plan to map out the 3 billion DNA bases. It pushes the deadline forward two years. Several general thoughts have been brought up. The increase in technological development is urged to keep up where it is.
The current use of the technology and its amazing help in the project is invaluable. The need for advancement on the technological side is quite big. We can not finish the project without advancements in mapping, sequencing, informatics, and gene identification. The next problem is the need for better genetic organization. Originally the plan was to map a chromosome. Large maps of chromosomes were made.
These maps have been exceptionally useful. (Both the large maps and smaller sections. ) There will be new things we encounter in the project and as a result we will be needing better mapping technologies for this problem. New technology allows us now to map an entire genome at once. The main area of concern is still resolution, large areas of maps can not be seen properly. In the old plan there was a plan for identifying genes in maps and sequences, an emphasis on this will improve map quality. Funding however is as usual a problem, With an annual budget of 200 -million dollars the project is under funded. Part of the genome project is its international side.
It requires researchers from around the world to share information. So far, regarding the ringworm, the world has been cooperating excellently, people are sharing information in a correct and proper fashion. Most of the reason this has been able to happen is because of scientist to scientist interaction thanks to the Human Genome Organization (HUGO). Several notable individual international collaborations have marked the genome project so far.
One is the United States United Kingdom collaboration on the sequencing of the Caenorhabditis elegans genome. Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory are collaborating with Australian colleagues to develop a physical map of chromosome 16, and investigators at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with Japanese scientists on a high resolution physical map of chromosome 21. Other joint efforts include the collaboration between the NIH and the Centre d Etude du Polymorphism Humain (CEPH) on the genetic map of the human genome and the Whitehead/Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Gene thon collaboration on the whole genome approach to the human physical map. These are just a couple of examples of todays scientific community and how it can operate properly. The following is a list of specific goals. Not much can be written so the following footnote applies to the following and the quote above. 12 Genetic mapping Complete the 2 - 5 cm map by 1995 (completed successfully) Develop technology for rapid genotyping Develop markers that are easier to use Develop new mapping technologies Physical maps Complete an STS map of the human genome at a resolution of 100 kb.
Maps bigger the 100 kb are needed for mapping. We are experimenting with different techniques but nothing is successful so far due to resolution problems. Apparently the company Silicon Graphics is helping with this problem. DNA Sequencing Develop efficient approaches to sequencing one- to several- mega base regions of DNA of high biological interest. Develop technology for high throughput sequencing, focusing on systems integration of all steps from template preparation to data analysis.
Build up sequencing capacity to a collective rate of 50 Mb per year by the end of the period. This rate should result in an aggregate of 80 Mb of DNA sequence completed by the end of FY 1998. Gene Identification Develop efficient methods of identifying genes and for placement of known genes on physical maps or sequenced DNA. Technology Development Substantially expand support of innovative technological developments as well as improvements in current technology for DNA sequencing and to meet the needs of the Human Genome Project as a whole. Model Organisms Finish an STS map of the mouse at 300 Kb resolution Finish the sequence of the E. coli and S.
cerevisiae Genomes by 1998 or earlier Continue sequencing C. elegans and Drosophila Genomes, with the aim of bringing C. elegans to near completion by 1998 Sequence selected segments of mouse DNA side by side with corresponding human DNA in areas of high biological interest. (these areas were completed and now more worms are being mapped) Informatics Continue to create, develop and operate databases and database tools for easy access to data, including effective tools and standards for data exchange and links among databases Consolidate, distribute and continue to develop effective software for large-scale genome projects Continue to develop tools for comparing and interpreting genome information Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Continue to identify and define issues and develop policy options to address them Develop and disseminate policy options regarding genetic testing services with widespread potential use Foster greater acceptance of human genetic variation Enhance and expand public and professional education that is sensitive to sociocultural and psychological issues Training Continue to encourage training of scientists in interdisciplinary sciences related to genome research Continue to encourage training of scientists in interdisciplinary sciences related to genome research Technology Transfer Encourage and enhance technology transfer both into and out of centers of genome research Outreach Cooperate with those who would set up distribution centers for genome materials. Share all information and materials within 6 months of their development. This should be accomplished by submission to public databases or repositories, or both, where appropriate Conclusion So far we have had amazing success with the Genome project, the only problem that I can see is that the technology does not exist that we need. Perhaps the ultimate problem is that we keep on reaching new conclusions which require so much thought ad new technologies.
We have yet to invent these technologies and so we cant know if we will ever have them. This is the ultimate problem. There are however considerable bonuses to the Genome project. Although we dont know if we need to map out the entire human Genome we do know that it is a wealth of knowledge. For example, the round worm that we decoded had a huge amount of brand new genetic information that we had never seen before. Because we can now start to compare the genes of various species we get a better and bigger organization and thus how we all are linked together which should give us a very strong creation theory.
Because of this the Genome project must continue in order to expand our knowledge. The genome project has already had a profound impact on biomedical research, as evidenced by the isolation of a number of genes associated with important diseases, such as Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, neurofibromatosis types 1 and 2, myotonia dystrophy, and fragile X syndrome. Genes that confer a predisposition to common diseases such as breast cancer, colon cancer, hypertension, diabetes and Alzheimers disease have also been localized to specific chromosomal regions. 13
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Research essay sample on Human Genome Project Dna Sequencing
