Human Genome Project

International effort aimed at identifying and sequencing (ordering) all of the bases in the human genome. American participation in this monumental undertaking has been supported by funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy (DOE).

* * *

A comprehensive effort by molecular biologists worldwide to map the human genome, which consists of about 100,000 genes, or 3 billion nucleotide base pairs. SYN: Human Genome Initiative.Initiated by Congress in 1990, the U.S. H. is a 15-year multidisciplinary effort, jointly administered by the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health, to map and sequence the human genome. Similar undertakings have been launched by Great Britain, Japan, and other countries, as well as by privately funded organizations. If printed out, the entire human genome would fill 1000 large-city telephone books, each having 1000 pages. Sequencing the DNA in all 46 chromosomes is expected to take 15 years and cost $3 billion, even with the help of polymerase chain reactions, fluorescent in situ hybridization, cloning of DNA segments, and automated sequencing technology. The resulting map will be a highly idealized representation, like an illustration in an anatomy atlas, since no 2 persons, except (perhaps) identical twins, have exactly the same genetic makeup. Completion of the genomic map will broaden our understanding of human biology and facilitate the detection and treatment of genetic diseases. Projects also under way to study the genomes of bacteria, yeasts, crop plants, farm animals, and other organisms will foster advances in agriculture, environmental science, and industrial processes. About 5% of the budget of the H. has been devoted to anticipating and resolving the ethical, legal, and social issues likely to arise from this research.

* * *

an international research effort to map and sequence the entire human genome, and to analyze, store, and make available the information obtained.