This project involved getting molecules of DNA and looking inside the nucleotides bases, also they were making sure that they were put in the correct order. The project ended up finishing earlier than expected in 2003, this was because the 3 billion pairs of human genome were sequenced faster than was anticipated due to the inventions of machines that make the sequencing process faster.
Human Genome Project involved in Biomedicine: Genes, Health and Future:
The relevance of the Human Genome Project in regards to gene, health and the future involved led to scientists being able to diagnose and treat various diseases. Also the Human Genome Project has helped certain drugs to be developed in which they target errors encoded in genes.
These DNA sequences can be seen in computers where they are kept in databases. This makes it easier for researchers to look for DNA sequences and also this is where the bioinformatics comes through. This is where researchers use the computers are used to interpret the biological data that is being presented.
Relevance of the Human Genome Project in Genes and Health:
Since the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, the medical industry has a far better knowledge of how genes can contribute to the health of an individual. This shows how important genes are when it comes to finding the diagnoses and treatment of human diseases. Another relevance of genes in the Human Genome Project is that whenever there is an error in a gene that occurs, researchers can tell when this happens. Thus helping to find the diagnosis and treatment of disease and also preventing the disease from occurring again.
The treatment of diseases by using genes is called gene therapy; this treatment involves replacing harmful genes with a normal gene in order to treat an illness. An example of this can be found with a patient who has cancer; the growth of the tumour can be suppressed with an addition of a certain gene. This shows how the Human Genome Project can change the lives of many people since new ways of treatment have been found to cure people.
Furthermore thanks to a process known as gene expression this has helped to identify certain genes in tissues and has enabled researchers to get a better understanding and knowledge when it comes to knowing how genes are expressed in tissue in order for it to function.
Relevance of the Human Genome Project in Biomedicine: Future:
Since the Human Genome Project finished in 2003 encoded genes are still being translated by scientists and identification of genes is still taking place. An enormous amount of information has been kept in order for scientists to keep looking at new ways of treating and diagnosing human diseases which can help prolong life. Computers now have databases which store DNA sequences, since powerful software is needed in order for researchers to look for DNA sequences and makes the process easier. This is where bioinformatics comes through; this is to do with them using computer power in order to understand the use of an enormous amount of biological data.
Over a period of time all this has caused sequence generation to speed up such that drugs have been developed in order to treat the human body, this has been said to have fewer side effects than the medicine of today. This is useful for patients who would get a certain side effect from a drug they have been prescribed to take; also this shows it is a better drug for the general public to take.
Conclusion:
Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 this has led to the development of the treatment, diagnosis (since we now know how the genes can cause certain diseases this can help to diagnose certain illnesses) and a better understanding to diseases, especially ones caused by defects in genes. This has enabled researchers to gain a better understanding about the way genes work and their functions in the human body. Not only has this been a great benefit to researchers and scientists but to the general public as well since we have gained a far better knowledge into the way the human genome works so this information can be used to treat people. There are still many things to research about ever since the completions of the Human Genome Project in 2003 since scientists are always discovering new things all the time that is making a great impact to science as a whole.
References:
Clayton, J. and Dennis, C. (2003) 50 years of DNA (1st edition), Palgrave MacMillian, New York
Gibson, G. and Muse, S. (2002) A Primer of Genome Science (1st edition) Sinauer Associates Inc., Sunderland
Human Genome Project Information, 2008, Medicines and New Genetics [online] Available at [Accessed 11th November 2010]
Human Genome Project Information, 2010, Gene Testing [online] Available at [Accessed 11th November 2010]
The Human Genome, 2010, Sequencing Technologies [online] Available at [Accessed 11th November 2010]