The Human Genome Project (HGP) is one of the greatest scientic advancements in the 21st century because it showed

us the blueprints to every living organism that ever existed. The Human genome project allows us to understand how diseases like cancer, alzheimer, and so many other diseases occur. This means that we could nd a way to cure diseases that may seem impossible.! The Human Genome Project is an international research project. It is named the Human Genome Project because it was the study of the complete set of genes or genomes in a human being. Their goal was to discover and understand the function of DNA, mapping of the genes and their specic role in the human body. When they discovered the mapping of genes in humans they discovered that diseases like cancer starts in DNA. In the replication system there are "misspellings" or typos when copying the DNA strands and that's the cause of disease (Figure 1). Their new goal is to gure out how to x those typos and if we do that we can cure the disease. This idea changed medical research and the possibilities of curing diseases that once seemed impossible.! The impact of this project is huge! The project revealed that there are about 20,500 human genes. We learned detailed information on the structure, organization and functions of the complete set of human genes. "This information can be thought of as the basic set of inheritable 'instructions' for the development and functions of the human being"(NIH, 2012) Scientists have discovered that there are disease genes, which cause diseases, and that there are more than 1800 of them. "As a result of The Human Genome Project, today's researches can nd a gene suspected of causing an inherited disease in a matter of days, rather than the years it took before the genome sequence was in hand" (NIH, 2013). These discoveries have sped up the process of discovering diseases so we can nd them early and stop them from getting worse.! Of course, information is only as good as the ability to use it so scientists are experimenting and testing as much as they can as quick as they can. "Already HapMap data have accelerated the search for genes involved in common human diseases, and have already yielded impressive results in nding genetic factors involved in conditions ranging from age-related blindness to obesity." (NIH, 2013). Despite the many important genetic discoveries there is still work to be done. The genetics of more complex conditions like heart disease are still far from clear. Although work still needs to be done, according to the National Institute of Health based on our new understanding on genetics in the future there will be drugs that are more e"ective and powerful that carry less side a"ects.! The human Genome Project is one of the greatest advancements of the 21st century. It gives hope for those with illnesses and hope to those with disabilities. This project has allowed us to advance to a better understanding of our body and it's functions. We now have found a way that could and will change lives for the better. We can only imagine what we will discover next.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

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Misspellings in DNA can be harmless in some cases but in others it can cause diseases! ! ! ! ! ! "Image Gallery Gateway." Gateway to U.S. DOE Biological and Environmental Research Image Galleries. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. <https://public.ornl.gov/site/gallery/detail.cfm? id=409&topic=46&citation=&general=&restsection=HGPArchive>! ! ! ! ! ! "NIH Fact Sheets - Human Genome Project." NIH Fact Sheets - Human Genome Project. National Institute of Health, 9 Mar. 2013, Web. 31 Jan. 2014. <http://report.nih.gov/nihfactsheets/ViewFactSheet.aspx?csid=45>.! WebsiteLinkTagsParentheticalEditDelete! ! ! !

! NIH. "An Overview of the Human Genome Project." An Overview of the Human Genome Project. National Institute of Health, 8 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. <http://www.genome.gov/12011238>.! WebsiteLinkTagsParentheticalEditDelete! !