Essay on The Human Genome Project - 1579 Words

Does the Human Genome Project effect the moral standards of society? Can the information produced by it become a beneficial asset or a moral evil? For example, X chromosome markers can be used to identify ethnicity. A seemingly harmless collection of information from the Human Genome Project. But lets assume this information is used to explore ways to deny entry into countries, determine social class, or who gets preferential treatment. Whether or not this type of treatment is acceptable to a moral society remains to be seen. The major events of genetic history are important to understanding the Human Genome Project. Genetics is the study of the patterns of inheritance of specific traits. The basic beginnings of genetic history lay in†¦show more content†¦quot;Research and technology efforts aimed at mapping and sequencing large portions or entire genomes are called Genome projectsquot;(Congress, 202). Genome projects are not the effort of a single organization, but instead are groups of organizations working in government and private industry throughout the world. The controversies surrounding the Human Genome Project can be better explained by explaining the structural and moral aspects of the project. Begun in 1990, the US Human Genome Project is a 15-year effort coordinated by the US Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. Its purposes are to identify all the estimated 80,000 genes in human DNA, determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical bases that make up human DNA , store this information in databases, and develop tools for data analysis. The objectives of the Human Genome Project are carried out by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and various other private organizations. These organizations all have two shared objectives, placing quot;new methods and instruments into the tool-kit of molecular biologyquot; and quot;building research infrastructure for geneticsquot;(Murphy, 17). Any attempt to resolve moral issues involving new information from the Human Genome ProjectShow MoreRelatedThe Human Genome Project1460 Words   |  6 PagesGene Essay Assignment: The Human Genome Project A genome is the complete DNA set of an organism. These DNA molecules are made up of two strands. Every strand is composed of four nucleotide bases: adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. Complementary strands are paired in certain ways. Cytosine always pairs with guanine and adenine always pairs with thymine. The human genome holds about 3 billion base pairs, found in the chromosomes. 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