http://base21.jinbo.net               
Mar. 29  2024
Write Article 
About Us 
 
Inter-Solidarity 
Christian's Photo Column 

The Second Genesis, the Human Genome Project

The initial research plan sets out all aspects of the HGP including completion of the genetic map and technological development for DNA sequence, and addresses the ethical, legal and social issues that may arise from the project. And now executives of a U.S. genomics firm, Celera, and HGP, an international venture, have announced that working in parallel, they have practically determined the human genetic code.

Source  :  The Mirror


By Kim Kyoung-eun Culture Reporter

Last June 26, the world was wrapped in a festival mood at the "historic announcement" of the substantial completion of the Human Genome Project(HGP). The age that is said to be a second genesis was opened in front of us with the new millennium.

But we should not be simplemindedly fascinated by the excitement. The future brought by the HGP is certainly not going to be only a scientific utopia. There obviously exists both a bright and seamy side to this great venture. And we must think over these two sides because an advance without reflection can turn our future into a dark age.

Let's start with the background of the HGP to the points at issue as expected, and discuss how we may prepare ourselves......Ed.

The initial research plan sets out all aspects of the HGP including completion of the genetic map and technological development for DNA sequence, and addresses the ethical, legal and social issues that may arise from the project. And now executives of a U.S. genomics firm, Celera, and HGP, an international venture, have announced that working in parallel, they have practically determined the human genetic code.

If so, what is a human genome? A genome is a compound word of gene and chromosome. It means the whole structure of the genes of an organism. The human body is made up of about 100 trillion cells. And each cell has a nucleus that contains 23 paired chromosomes. Each chromosome is in the shape of DNA wrapped in a protein called histon. DNA is made up of four similar chemicals(called bases, forming pairs of A and T, and C and G) that are repeated millions or billions of times throughout a genome. The human genome, for example, has 3 billion pairs of bases. The particular order of the base pairs is the code of all of life's diversity, even dictating whether an organism is human or another species.

What has been announced is a draft with 97% of the Human genome map and 85% of all the base order. We have "a book of codes" that contains a tremendous amount of life's secrets. From the 23 paired chromosomes, the 22nd chromosome with 33 millon base orders has been decoded perfectly. It is the smallest chromosome second only to the 21st chromosome. But it contains many genes that can cause a wide variety of disease and functional troubles. Also, these genes act on the immunological system and are related with congenital diseases and some cancers. It is also estimated that the 22nd chromosome includes a gene associated with a mental disorder, namely, schizophrenia.


The HGP has been progressing with joint participation by 350 research institutions of the world. As much as 3 billion dollars have been invested, the largest-scale in the history of science, and a large human force is being mobilized. The project originally was planned to last 15 years, but rapid technological advances have accelerated the expected completion year to 2003.
2000 / -0 / 9-
성신여대영자신문사   ssmirror@yahoo.co.kr


 
Labor | Science & ICT | Society | Human Rights
Copylefted by base21.jinbo.net