The Human Genome Project begun in 1990

The Human Genome Project begun in 1990, it is a 13-year effort coordinated by the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health in the United States. The project originally was planned to last 15 years, but effective resource and technological advances have accelerated the expected completion date to 2003. The Project goals are to * identify all the approximately 30,000 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. Several types of genome maps have already been completed, and a working draft of the entire human genome sequence was announced in June 2000, with analyses published in February 2001. An important feature of this project is the federal government's long-standing dedication to the transfer of technology to the private sector. By licensing technologies to private companies and awarding grants for innovative research, the project is catalyzing the multibillion-dollar U.S. biotechnology industry and fostering the development of new medical applications. In June 2000, scientists completed the first working draft of the human genome. Efforts are still underway to

  • Word count: 740
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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The Female Orgasm: Adaptation, Artefact or culturally learned? ( Department of Psychology - University of Liverpool)

The Human Female Orgasm: Adaptation, Artefact, or culturally learned? Rajat Passy Department of Psychology University of Liverpool Liverpool United Kingdom The Human Female Orgasm: Adaptation, Artefact, or culturally learned? Word Count: 2958 (excluding in-text and end-text referencing and quotations) The female orgasm has been a source of fascination for a variety of groups from sex researchers to the lay public, and evolutionary psychologists are no exception. Evolutionists have not had much difficulty explaining the male orgasm, due to its direct relationship with reproduction. But the Darwinian rationale behind the female orgasm has remained elusive. Women are able to have sexual intercourse and even conceive a child - doing their part for the perpetuation of the species - without experiencing orgasm (Smith NY times, 2005). Unlike the unicorn, (which is specially interesting precisely because it does not exist) or extrasensory perception (which probably does not exist but is interesting because of the possibility that it might) or the above mentioned male orgasm (which exists with monotonous regularity and for the most part is interesting only to people directly involved in one) the female orgasm definitely exists and yet arouses interest, debate, ideology, technical manuals and popular literature simply because it is so often absent (Symons, 1979). There have

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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The Human Genome Project

THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT What is the human genome project? Completed in 2003, the Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13-year project coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. During the early years of the HGP, the Welcome Trust (U.K.) became a major partner; additional contributions came from Japan, France, Germany, China, and others. See our history page for more information. Project goals were to: -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. History of the Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project (HGP) refers to the international 13-year effort, formally begun in October 1990 and completed in 2003, to discover all the estimated 20,000-25,000 human genes and make them accessible for further biological study. Another project goal was to determine the complete sequence of the 3 billion DNA subunits (bases in the human genome). As part of the HGP, parallel studies were carried out on selected model organisms such as the bacterium E. coli and the mouse to help develop the technology and interpret

  • Word count: 538
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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Issues in Food and Nutrition Essay

Issues in Food and Nutrition Essay "The evolution of the human diet is of great interest to anthropologists, biologists and nutritionists alike. The evidence base each discipline utilises in their research is varied, both in nature and quality. Critically discuss the evolution of the human diet and evaluate the methodologies employed by different disciplines in developing this knowledge," Every human being has a primary purpose and is always trying to fulfil their needs and wants. This has been to satisfy the structural and functional needs providing energy and nutrients so that the body has a constant balance. The human diet is based around behavioural influences by both culture (developing world) and technological (developed world) Over the years the human diet has had many influences, improvements in treatments, experiments, and inventions these have all lead us to develop a greater knowledge of the best foods, when to eat them and how much to eat of them. Cost has always played a major role in the human diet. Evolution of the diet started with the domestication of livestock this considerably changed the supply of food. The introduction of agriculture showed that there was an interrelation between food supply and cost. When stable, balanced healthy human diets were first introduced it was in conjunction with the start of food production. This chain of production lead to

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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Should reproductive hormones be used to alter fertility?

Should reproductive hormones be used to alter fertility? There may be many different reasons why a person might want to use reproductive hormones. Two of the main reasons could be to increase their fertility or to control it. There are also many risks/ side effects which might occur when using the hormones The natural method of reproduction has become only one of many new techniques used today. There are millions of couples that do not have the ability to reproduce on their own because of infertility and therefore, must resort to these new techniques. The main causes of infertility are that of hormonal malfunctions and anatomical abnormalities. There are many ethical debates on whether artificial means of reproduction should be used I do not think that fertility drugs should be used to increase fertility. As they have many side effects, for example, clomid is a mild ovarian stimulant that can cause headaches nausea and breast tenderness, which often can not be predicted, however I do believe everyone has the right to have a child so therefore I think that the holistic approach can be taken. The holistic approach does not use synthetic hormones and mess with the bodies' natural system. "This approach utilises complementary therapies to improve the results of high-tech care - or uses minimally invasive diagnostic techniques to improve the results of complementary care. The

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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The Human Genome Project and its Ethical, Legal and Social Implications

The Human Genome Project and its Ethical, Legal and Social Implications "...research on the human genome and the resulting applications open up vast prospects for progress in improving the health of individuals and of humankind as a whole...such research should fully respect human dignity, freedom and human rights, as well as the prohibition of all forms of discrimination based on genetic characteristics," (UNESCO Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, July 1997) The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a co-ordinated, international research programme, which aims to identify and locate all human genes by determining the entire sequence of the human genome by the year 2005. Although there are indisputable benefits of this research, it is fraught with difficult ethical, legal and social issues. The possible implications are therefore an essential part of our understanding of the project. The Human Genome Project´s main objective is to determine the complete 'reference´ human genome that will be the basis for further studies. This is being achieved using both physical and genetic mapping. According to the Genome Data Base (GDB), over 7000 of an estimated 80 000 human genes have already been mapped to particular chromosomes. The goal of physical mapping is to produce a genome map consisting of approximately 30 000 markers separated by about 100 kilobases. Each marker will

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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Explain the treatments available to help infertile couples have children.

Explain the treatments available to help infertile couples have children Infertility treatment is an alternative way of having babies for couples who are unable to conceive a child naturally, so therefore they rely on a number of different options, which will help them. There are a number of different treatments available, In vitro fertilisation (IVF), Gamete intrafallopian transfer, and Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, the use of donated eggs or sperm and surrogacy. Medical technology has provided ovary solutions, which are known as embryo technology. The world's first test tube baby was Louise brown, she was born in the U.K in 1978. Her birth offered hope infertile couples across the world. Since then, thousands of couples have made use of In vitro fertilisation and other assisted conception techniques. In Vitro fertilisation eggs are gathered from the woman's ovaries, which is then mixed with the man's sperm in a dish, in the laboratory. 'In Vitro' is a Latin term meaning 'in glass'. It refers to the glass container in the laboratory where fertilisation takes place, a popular name for this treatment is 'a test tube baby'. What happens is that, the woman is given fertility drugs to stimulate the ovaries to develop several mature eggs for fertilisation. The women are closely monitored when they are on these drugs because some of the drugs have strong side effects. The

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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Contraceptives

Contraceptives People in the 21st century face a lot of queries regarding unsafe sex, unwanted pregnancy increasing sexual diseases. Teens of today do not think about the problems which they would face after having unsafe sex. They do not have complete knowledge of the hazards that follow them in future. To bring these precarious activities under control Contraceptives (birth control) were introduced. The main aim to bring the contraceptives in the market was to eradicate the problems of Sexually transmitted Diseases (STDs) and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Birth control or contraceptives were used by the women to avoid unwanted pregnancy by using certain methods. Contraception is of many types but the motto behind it remains the same i.e. to avoid unwanted pregnancy and to prevent the STD's. In general terms contraception is a method which stops the egg of a women from being fused by a male egg. Thus the fertilization can be prevented and no pregnancy takes place. Before the introduction of the birth control pills, women ate or drank certain substances which could prevent pregnancy or induce a miscarriage. Generally, they consumed the seeds of herbs and other products made up of plants and herbs which served them as oral contraceptives. But these things were dangerous. Therefore to prevent this intrauterine device (IUD) was introduced. This was done by some

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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Fetal Hemoglobin

Fetal Hemoglobin: Function and Structure Hemoglobin is found in the red blood cells of every human being, child or adult. It is necessary because hemoglobin binds and carries oxygen from the lungs to other tissues within the body. Hemoglobin also transports carbon dioxide from tissues to the lungs. In fact, hemoglobin represents over 95% of the solid components of red blood cells. However, a developing baby has fetal hemoglobin while an adult, in most cases, carries adult hemoglobin. Fetal Red Blood Cells A fetus is totally dependent on oxygen from its mother's lungs and thus, must acquire a way in which to obtain the needed molecule. The needed oxygen travels around the mother's bloodstream attached to hemoglobin molecules in red blood cells. Once at the placenta, the oxygen diffuses across into the fetal bloodstream and reaches the fetus at a much lower pressure than is found in the mother's blood. The oxygen pressure found in a fetus' blood can be compared to the pressure at the top of Mt. Everest, not nearly enough pressure for an adult. How then, can a fetus survive on such low oxygen pressure? A fetus is able to cope with this low amount of oxygen pressure in several ways: . A fetal heart beats extremely fast - an average of 150 times per minute. A normal adult, on the other hand, has an average heartbeat between 70-80 times per minute. 2. A fetus

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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DNA and Manipulating Reproduction.

DNA and Manipulating Reproduction If 100 fertilised eggs were planted in 100 females uteri at the correct time in their menstrual cycle, only 18 of these eggs would be born. At a certain point during a female's menstrual cycle, blisters form within the uterus and mucus is then secreted. The gene that produces this mucus is MUC1 - the mucin gene. This mucus and therefore this gene, is associated with breast cancer, which therefore means that a mutated mucin gene could contribute or be a cause of breast cancer. A normal fertile female has 5.5 kilobases. Although rare, some females can have just 3.5 kilobases. This affects the lining of the uterus ultimately resulting in infertility as the uterus becomes inhospitable. Fertility declines with age, as the uterus becomes more inhospitable. Moreover, many more eggs/embryo's have severely mutated chromosomes as either a result of a mutated mother egg/cell, or as a result of DNA copying errors as the cell/egg multiplies. This decline in fertility is so severe that by the time a female reaches the age of 45, there is only a 2% chance of her giving birth to a child after having IVF treatment. However this is not so with the oldest living organism on the planet being 3000 years old - a tree, still producing saplings! How the number of eggs in a female declines throughout the years: At 16 weeks, the female foetus contains 7

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Biological Sciences
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