Human Genome Project

            The Human Genome Project (HGP) was a international, collaborative research project. Their goal was to complete mapping and to understanding of all the genes of human beings. All our genes together are known as our “genome.” The Human Genome Project decoded the human genome in three major ways: to determine the order, or “sequence”, of all the base pairs in our genome’s DNA; to make maps that show the location of genes for major sections of our chromosomes and to produce linkage maps, which can be used to track inherited traits over generations. The Human Genome Project revealed that there are probably 20,500 human genes. The ultimate product that the Human Genome Project has give the world is the detailed information of the structure, organization and function of their complete set of genes. The Human Genome Project formed in 1990, coordinated by the U.S Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The HPG was supposed to run for 15 years, but it was actually complete in only 13 years. The HPG impacts both the science community and the public. This would be a great discovery to the science community, as they try to help find cures and benefit the public’s health. (About the Human) (Overview of Human) (Intro to Human)

            There are two main companies in the United States that were racing against time to finish this project. One of them is the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) which is lead by Francis S. Collins M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Collins led the successful effort to complete the Human Genome Project. The HGP ran ahead of schedule and under budget, and all the data is now available to the scientific community without restriction. Eric S. Lander, also part of the NHGRI team, was one of the main scientists and spokesperson. He and the team that he led created a very early genetic map of the whole human genome. The other company is Celera, a privately owned company, led by J Craig Venter, Ph.D. One of Celera’s investors is Applera, who is owned by Tony White. Celera started the Human Genome Project about eight years after NHGRI did, but they both finished at the same time, in 2003. (Celera: Our History) (Former NHGRI Francis)