• During the early years of the HGP, the Wellcome Trust (U.K.) became a major partner; additional contributions came from Japan, France, Germany, China, and others. identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA,
• determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA,
• store this information in databases,
• improve tools for data analysis,
• transfer related technologies to the private sector, and
• address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the project.
To help achieve these goals, researchers also studied the genetic makeup of several nonhuman organisms. These include the common human gut bacterium Escherichia coli, the fruit fly, and the laboratory mouse. After years of multi-billion-dollar research, the Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics (a non-government biotechnology company) jointly announced drafts of the human genome sequence in 2000. By mid-2001, scientists associated with these ventures had presented the true nature and complexity of the digital code inherent in DNA. We now understand that there are approximately 35,000 genes in each human DNA molecule, comprised of approximately 3 billion chemical bases arranged in precise sequence. Even the DNA molecule for the single-celled bacterium, E. coli, contains enough information to fill all the books in any of the world 's
Bibliography: 1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Genome_Project 2. http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/human-genome-project.htm 3. http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/project/about.shtml 4. http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/home.shtml 5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/SCIENCE96/