Human Genome Project Essay

3148 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Human genome project benefits and risks

Human Genome Project Essay

The Human Genome Initiative is a worldwide research effort that has the goal of analyzing the sequence of human DNA and determining the location of all human genes. Begun in 1990, the U.S. Human Genome project was originally planned to last 15 years but now is projected to be complete in 13 years. This project was started to find the 80,000 - 100,000 human genes and to determine the sequence of the 3 - billion chemical bases that make up human DNA. The information generated by the human genome project is expected to be the source book for biomedical fields, including those such as developmental biology and neurobiology, where scientists are just beginning to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms. The human genome project is expected to immensely benefit medical science. It will help us to understand and eventually treat many of the more than 4000 genetic diseases that afflict mankind, as well as the many multifunctional diseases in which genetic predisposition plays an important role. New technologies emanating from the genome project will also find application in other fields such as agriculture and the environmental sciences.

The human genome consists of 50,000 to 100,000 genes located on 23 pairs of chromosomes. One chromosome in each pair is inherited from the mother, and the other from the father. Each chromosome contains a long molecule of DNA, the molecule of which genes are made. The order of the four bases on the DNA strand determines the information content of a particular gene or piece of DNA. Mapping is the process of determining the position and spacing of genes, or other genetic landmarks, on the chromosomes relative to one another.

The possibility of initiating such a maj...

... middle of paper ...

...From Maps to Medicine: Hereditary Colon Cancer. "Hereditary Colon Cancer", Obtained from WWW 10/20/99: http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/Policy_and_public_affairs/Communications/Publications/Maps_to_medicine/colon.html.

U.S. Dept. of Energy. Human Genome Project Information. "HGP Announce Accelerated Completion Date of Working Draft", Obtained from WWW 10/19/99:5/28/99: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/project/update.html.

U.S. Dept. of Energy. Human Genome Project Information. "Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) of the Human Genome Project", Obtained from WWW 10/19/99:9/7/99: http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human_Genome/resource/elsi.html.

U.S. Dept. of Energy. Understanding our Genetic Inheritance the U.S. Human Genome Project. "The first Five Years: Fiscal Years 1991-1995", Obtained from WWW 10/19/99:1/13/99: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/project/5yrplan/intro.html.

Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Consequences Of Human Trafficking

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    As victim count continues to rise, its difficult to see how such great numbers of men, women and children are bought and sold every year. Trafficking can be found in many forms, including: prostitution, slavery, or forced labor (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). It wasn’t until the 1980’s that international human trafficking became globally noticed. With the lack of government intervention and control in several nations, and the free trade market, slavery once again became a profitable industry (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). As previously mentioned, easier movement across nations borders is one of the outcomes of globalization. It is also what makes human trafficking so easy today. It is estimated that about 20.9 million people are victims across the entire globe (United Nations Publications, 2012); trafficking accounts for 32 billion dollars in generated profit globally (Brewer, n.d). 58 percent of all human trafficking was for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and of this 55-60 percent are women (United Nations Publications,

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Human Trafficking

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human Trafficking is a universal issue that is still currently happening today. It is a major crime that essentially lets someone take illegal custody of another human’s rights and freedoms. The impacts of human trafficking are crucial and nerve-racking. Victims of such crimes most likely suffer from injuries physically and mentally, abusive behavior, rape, death threats, and life taking. Human Trafficking undermines the safety and security of people and their lives (TIP, 2007). People who are desperate for money and would do anything for little amounts of money would either do drug and gun dealing, or human trafficking. Human Trafficking is the fastest growing business in the world. The number of current slaves in America is less than half of what the number of identified humans who are trafficked (HJHP, 2012).

    Read More

  • Genetic Information vs Privacy

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    The genetic technology revolution has proved to be both a blessing and a blight. The Human Genome Project is aimed at mapping and sequencing the entire human genome. DNA chips are loaded with information about human genes. The chip reveals specific information about the individuals’ health and genetic makeup (Richmond & Germov 2009).The technology has been described as a milestone by many in that it facilitates research, screening, and treatment of genetic conditions. However, there have been fears that the technology permits a reduction in privacy when the information is disclosed. Many argue that genetic information can also be used unfairly to discriminate against or stigmatize individuals (Willis 2009).

    Read More

  • Plate Tectonics

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since the beginning of human kind there has been a cloud of wonder of how our planet was formed. Scientist interested in this field through out the years have developed many different theories to how our planet came about. Before the Twentieth Century, scientists and geologists thought that mountain structures were due to the massive tightening of the earth caused by the gradual cooling of molten rocks. In 1900, American scientist Joseph Le Conte, published an article in the Appleton's Popular Scientific Monthly. He described that the problem in understanding mountain building was establishing the cause of sideways pressure. It was not until 1910, that an American Geologist named F.B.Taylor, proposed the idea of a continental drift. Other scientists dismissed Taylor's idea, because there was just not enough proof. However, Taylor's idea was then backed up by a German scientist named Alfred Wegener. He proposed that the continents surrounding the Atlantic Ocean, Africa and South America fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. His broad range of studies enabled him to incorporate his theory of Plate Tectonics. Wegener, later in 1915 while in the German military published his idea that interpreted how his continental drift theory worked. He proposed that a huge landmass called Pangea, meaning ("all land") existed 200 million years ago. He furthered explained that this super continent began to drift apart very slowly throughout millions of years into what it looks like now. Wegener went on several expeditions through out his life to the continents of South America and Africa.

    Read More

  • Modern Day Slavery: Human Trafficking

    876 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I’ve been held down like a piece of meat while monsters disguised as men violated me again & again.” (Gladys Lawson, Blood Borne Connections.) Human trafficking is the modern day slavery, it involves taking control over a person through force, fraud or coercion to exploit the victim for forced labor, sexual exploitation. or both (“What” par.1). This is become the sad reality for many, approximately three out of every 1,000 people worldwide are being forced into this such slavery. Victims of human trafficking are people of all backgrounds and ages, no one is safe from the dirty hands of human traffickers. Every year thousands of men, women, and children are forced into human trafficking the public needs to be informed, enhance penalties for violators, and raise awareness to finally put a stop to these horrible crimes that are happening right end our noses.

    Read More

  • The Human Genome Project

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    This book is about the amazing task of mapping and showing all the sequences of the thousands and thousands of genes in the human body. The book is split up into nine chapters each of which covers a different aspect of this incredible project. The book tells all about almost every aspect of the project. It tells all about the project and what the point is, what has been accomplished so far, and when they expect it to be finished. According to the introduction the project is actually expected to be finished sometime this year.

    Read More

  • The Ethical Issues of Genetic Testing

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Human Genome Project is the largest scientific endeavor undertaken since the Manhattan Project, and, as with the Manhattan Project, the completion of the Human Genome Project has brought to surface many moral and ethical issues concerning the use of the knowledge gained from the project. Although genetic tests for certain diseases have been available for 15 years (Ridley, 1999), the completion of the Human Genome Project will certainly lead to an exponential increase in the number of genetic tests available. Therefore, before genetic testing becomes a routine part of a visit to a doctor's office, the two main questions at the heart of the controversy surrounding genetic testing must be addressed: When should genetic testing be used? And who should have access to the results of genetic tests? As I intend to show, genetic tests should only be used for treatable diseases, and individuals should have the freedom to decide who has access to their test results.

    Read More

  • The Horrors of Human Trafficking

    1657 Words  | 4 Pages

    Provost, Brittani. “A Long History.” human-trafficking-today.blogspot.com. n.p., 11 November 2012. Web. 14 April 2014. .

    Read More

  • Addressing Human Trafficking: A Call for Action

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Modern-day slavery and the sex trade in the United States has become a $28 billion dollar industry, rivaling drug trafficking” (Tomas 1). “Human trafficking is the fastest growing crime and the third largest organized crime in the world after the drug and arms trade. UNICEF estimates that 5.5 million children are trafficked globally every year”(Ezeobi 2). “Dec. 6 of this year marks 150 years since the ratification of the 13th Amendment formally abolished slavery in the United States”(Krulak 1). “In spite of more than a decade of efforts to rescue victims and raise awareness, the overall problem of modern-day slavery is actually getting worse” (Krulak 2). “Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world”(Krulak 2). “We’ve seen increases in trafficking case filed, prosecuted and convicted”(Perez 1). “The NHTRC received reports of 9,298 unique cases of human trafficking”(Lee 2). “Of those cases, 64% involved sex trafficking, 22% involved labor trafficking, nearly 3% involved both sex and labor trafficking”(Lee 2). An additional 12% were unspecified”(Lee 2). “The National Center for missing and Exploited Children says at least 100,000 children across the country ate trafficked each year”(Alcindor 1). “Polaris project, a non-profit that runs the national human trafficking hotline, has received 58, 911 calls since December 2007”(Alcindor 3). At least 2,081 callers have identified themselves as a

    Read More

  • Human Trafficking: A Global Problem

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human Trafficking is a global problem that affects the lives of millions of people in almost every country in the world, and which deprives them of their human dignity. As one of the most infamous crimes in the world, human trafficking is misleading and makes victims in women, men and children from all corners of the world every day and causes them to be exploited. Although the best-known form of human trafficking is sexual exploitation, hundreds of thousands of victims are also trafficked for the purposes of forced labor, forced labor as domestic servants, child begging and organ removal (Shelley, 2010). On the other side, “human trafficking is both a global problem and a domestic problem” (Jones, Engstrom, Hilliard, & Diaz, 2007, p.108-109)

    Read More

  • Change And Change: What Is Climate Change?

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    Continental drift- led to the change in the physical features of land, its position and a change in ocean currents.

    Read More

  • Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery

    2082 Words  | 5 Pages

    Human trafficking is the third most profitable and fastest growing criminal activity in the world, after guns and ammunition and drugs. Roughly 2.5 million people are trafficked every year, they are recruited through some form of coercion or deception and exploited, mainly for forced labor or sexual exploitation. The market value of human trafficking is approximately $32 billion per year. (Polaris Project.) “This is a global problem, no country is spared.” (Slavery Today). About three out of every 1,000 persons worldwide are trafficked at any given point in time. Women and children are the primary targets, but men are also trafficked. Forced labor claims 20.9 million victims, of whom 90% are exploited in the private economy (Slavery Today).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Human Trafficking

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    Recent studies show that human trafficking is “the fastest growing crime in the world” (Mcnall) because people can be sold repeatedly and since they are easily replaced “traffickers maximize the abuse of their victims, uncaring about a relatively short

    Read More

  • Alfred Wegener

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    One way we can tell that the continents moved a long time ago is by the mountain chains forming on plate boundaries. As the plates are subducted or push alongside each other, they form mountains or volcanoes above and below the ocean surface. We can find out the plate boundaries by

    Read More

  • Plate Tectonics Theory

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Without studying plate tectonics, then we can never evaluate, prepare for, or predict: volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, or tsunamis. Without the theory of plate tectonics we would have never had known what the cause of earthquakes is or how to prepare for the arrival of an S-wave after the arrival of a P-wave. The theory of plate tectonics is not a lost cause or a finished theory. There is still a lot of progress to be made; right now my team and I are working on a way to predict earthquakes up to days in advance so that if the threat of a major earthquake is visible, we can evacuate before the P-wave even hits instead of panicking when the P-wave does hit. My team and I are also working on improved ways to predict and prepare for volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.

    Read More

More about Human Genome Project Essay

Open Document