The Human Genome Project

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Genome Project

The Human Genome Project

By: Brooke Griffith

        The human genome project was designed in 1990 as a scientific undertaking in which the end result would be a complete mapping of the 100,000 human genes and their purpose in the creation of an individual (Khoury and Dorman, 1998).  Since the beginning of the human genome project, there have been many discoveries related to causative factors of congenital disorders, as well as the discovery of genetic predisposition for chronic disorders, such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s (Zimmern, 1999).  Though these findings have given the world remarkable insight into the causative factors for various diseases, there are many legal, ethical, and social issues, as well as the impact on health care and health promotion that must be dealt with.

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        There are several legal or political issues regarding knowledge of a person’s genetic make-up, such as to whom would it be available.  Will insurance provider’s and employers be aloud access to a person’s genetic information?  If such information is shared with these institutions, it allows for the possibility that individuals may be refused based on this information (Khoury and Dorman, 1998).  Also, there must be federal legislature determining appropriate use of genetic information.  As of right now, the state legislature controls this issue and the laws vary from state to state (Khoury and Dorman, 1998).  This may cause future problems ...

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