A Massive Project For The Benefit Of Mankind: A Look At The Human Geno :: essays research papers fc

A Massive Project for the Benefit of Mankind A style at the Human Genome Project     Scientists are taking medical engine room to new heights as they race tomap all of the genes, closely 100,000, in the 23 chromosomes of the human body.Along the way, they hope to understand the stand of, and maybe even developmethods of treating certain genetic diseases, such as Alzheimers and MuscularDystrophy. They plan to do this by identifying the DNA rank of an abnormalgene in which a disease originates and comparing it with the data of a normal orhealthy gene. The entire research hurtle is entitled "The Human GenomeProject."     "The Human Genome Project" is a large subdue nominate being conducted by more(prenominal) than cc laboratories, with even more researchers and labs having joined in.Most of the labs and researchers are located in France and the United States.The project started in 1990 and was slated to take 15 years and follow $3 zillionin U.S. money for the entire project coming to roughly $200 million per year.Federal funding for the project is nearly 60% of the yearbook need. This hascreated some funding problems for the project. There also generate beentechnological advances and discoveries that make believe helped to speed up the project.This automation may help to reduce the cost and help the project to meet itsobjectives ahead of schedule. The project was estimated to have luxuriant mapsof all of the chromosomes and know the location of most of the human Genes by1996. Researchers have successfully located the gene and DNA sequence forHuntingtons ailment on Chromosome 4 and have created a genetic test to image if a person carries this gene. "The child of a person withHuntingtons has a 50% chance of inheriting the gene, which inevitably leads tothe disease." Once an individual acquires the gene, it is only a matter oftime before they acquire the disease. Because the medical cos ts of treatingsuch persons in terminal illnesses are extremely high, insurance companies whowant to check mark in business see this genetic test, and others like it, as an opportunity to screen prospective clients for the probability of such diseases.Some people feel that this development gives insurance companies unfairadvantage over those covered by medical insurance and point out that release ofgenetic information to insurance companies puts a severe disadvantage on theperson who is screened, as well as violates the patients right to privacy. Ifthis genetic information is not safegua rded as confidential for the patientsand doctors knowledge alone, and then the patient can be labeled as undesirable and