Human Genome Project
hideThe Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with a primary goal to determine the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA and to identify and map the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional standpoint.
The project began in 1990 initially headed by James D. Watson at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. A working draft of the genome was released in 2000 and a complete one in 2003, with further analysis still being published. A parallel project was conducted outside of government by the Celera Corporation. Most of the government-sponsored sequencing was performed in universities and research centers from the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Britain. The mapping of human genes is an important step in the development of medicines and other aspects of health care.
While the objective of the Human Genome Project is to understand the genetic makeup of the human species, the project also has focused on several other nonhuman organisms such as E. coli, the fruit fly, and the laboratory mouse. It remains one of the largest single investigational projects in modern science.[citation needed]
The HGP originally aimed to map the nucleotides contained in a haploid reference human genome (more than three billion). Several groups have announced efforts to extend this to diploid human genomes including the International HapMap Project, Applied Biosystems, Perlegen, Illumina, JCVI, Personal Genome Project, and Roche-454.
The "genome" of any given individual (except for identical twins and cloned organisms) is unique; mapping "the human genome" involves sequencing multiple variations of each gene. The project did not study the entire DNA found in human cells; some heterochromatic areas (about 8% of the total) remain un-sequenced.
For more information about Human Genome Project, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with human genome project
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Nov 18, 2009 |
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A whirlwind of activity is under way to apply the findings of the $3 billion Human Genome Project to improve health care in the United States and around the world.
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Oct 14, 2009 |
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A team of scientists, led by a biomedical engineer at The University of Texas at Austin, have demonstrated - for the first time - that mathematical models created from data obtained by DNA microarrays, can ...
IBM Research Aims to Build Nanoscale DNA Sequencer (w/ Video)
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In an effort to build a nanoscale DNA sequencer, IBM scientists are drilling nano-sized holes in computer-like chips and passing DNA strands through them in order to read the information contained ...
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Sep 02, 2009 |
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Scientists are beginning a large-scale effort to identify and analyze the vast majority of cells in or on your body that aren't of human origin.
Scientists take early steps toward mapping epigenetic variability
Aug 14, 2009 |
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Brown University scientists have taken the first steps toward mapping epigenetic variability in cells and tissues. Mapping the human epigenome, similar to the human genome project in the 1990s, could someday ...
Scientists identify new gene linked to autism risk, especially in boys
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
May 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- UCLA scientists have discovered a variant of a gene called CACNA1G that may increase a child's risk of developing autism, particularly in boys. The journal Molecular Psychiatry publishes the findings in its ...
Nanopore Sequencing Could Slash DNA Analysis Costs
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Mar 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Over the past 5 years, researchers have been exploring the use of nanoscale pores as nucleic acid sequencing tools. In theory, such pores should generate a unique response characteristic of each of the four ...
Genetic clues hold key to schizophrenia treatment
Mar 20, 2009 |
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Researchers have taken a step forward in understanding the genetics of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Scientists find a new class of small RNAs and define its function
Biology /
Jan 26, 2009 |
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Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) announced today the discovery of a new class of small RNAs. At the same time, they reported that their discovery suggests the presence of a strikingly novel biochemical ...
Rutgers-Camden developing enzyme function database
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Since the advent of the Human Genome Project an explosion of data has sent the science world scrambling. There is a growing demand to fine-tune genomic codes, which list the "ingredients for life," but do not adequately explain ...
Understanding extinct microbes may influence the state of modern human health
Jan 05, 2009 |
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The study of ancient microbes may not seem consequential, but such pioneering research at the University of Oklahoma has implications for the state of modern human health. Cecil Lewis, assistant professor in the Department ...
