Human Genome Project

What were the main goals of the Human Genome Project?

• Identify all the genes in the human genome and identify which chromosome each is on.

• Determine the base sequences of the 3 billion base pairs in human DNA and store the information in databases.

What are the benefits of the HGP?

• help us understand diseases to improve their diagnosis and treatment

• identify mutations linked to different forms of cancer

• improve design of medication

• more accurately predict the effects of drugs

• improve disease risk assessment

• advance forensic applied sciences

• use it in bioarcheology, anthropology and evolution.

What sequencing technique was used in the HGP?

Sanger sequencing- this involved sequencing relatively small sections of DNA at a time (usually <1,000 bps). This process took a long time.

What is the 100K genome project?

• The 100K Genome Project aims to sequence the DNA of 100,000 people in the UK, focusing specifically at rare diseases and cancers.

• This was made possible through the use of new sequencing techniques i.e. next generation sequencers (NGS) which can sequence an entire genome in just a few hours.

What was the aim of the 100K Genome project?

• improve the accuracy of diagnoses

• better predict the action of drugs

• improve the design of drugs

• find new ways of treating genetic diseases

• explore the possibility of tailoring therapies to treat a disease in an individual person.

State some ethical concerns surrounding genome projects.