A bioinformatics project that has identified the 30,000 genes in human DNA. The goal of the Human Genome Project is to advance biomedical research and develop personalized medicine by determining the relationships between the three billion chemical base pairs (the DNS sequence) and human traits and predispositions.
Coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Human Genome Project started in 1990 and released its findings in 2001 along with results from the Celera Genomics Group. In addition, part of this government project is to study the ethical and legal impact on society. There are similar projects in other countries. See
micro array.
The End Goal: Customized Medicine
Although sequencing costs per human genome have been extremely expensive, as of 2024, they range from $400 to $1,000, with cost dropping to $100 in the future. With such total knowledge of a person's makeup, medicine can be tailored to the individual rather than a group. Also called "genomic medicine," personalized medicine is expected to dramatically alter the medical profession. Stay tuned! See
Personal Genome Project.