...The Human Genome Project (HGP) was one of the great feats of exploration in history - an inward voyage of discovery rather than an outward exploration of the planet or the cosmos; an international research effort to sequence and map all of the genes - together known as the genome - of members of our species, Homo sapiens. The Human Genome Project was started in 1990 with the goal of sequencing and identifying all three billion chemical units in the human genetic instruction set, finding the genetic roots of disease and then developing treatments. It is considered a Mega Project because the human genome has approximately 3.3 billion base-pairs. With the sequence in hand, the next step was to identify the genetic variants that increase the risk for common diseases like cancer and diabetes. It was far too expensive at that time to think of sequencing patients’ whole genomes. So the National Institutes of Health embraced the idea for a "shortcut", which was to look just at sites on the genome where many people have a variant DNA unit. The theory behind the shortcut was that, since the major diseases are common, so too would be the genetic variants that caused them. Natural selection keeps the human genome free of variants that damage health before children are grown, the theory held, but fails against variants that strike later in life, allowing them to become quite common. (In 2002 the National Institutes of Health started a $138 million project called the HapMap to catalog the...
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...Reaction Paper to Beyond the Genome Science and Society - Fall 2007 Presented by Dave Cloud Summary of Beyond the Genome The articles “Beyond the Genome”, and “DNA Dilemmas” explores the positive and negative characteristics of genetic research in the 1990’s and beyond. The authors use ethical principles, case studies, and opinion poles from various age groups to assemble public reaction to what is emerging as a very complex issue in our society today. They ponder the questions of intervention vs. non-intervention in specific case studies about paternalism, dwarfism, privacy, and flawed gene heredity relating to retardation. In two of the cases, aborting the unborn fetus is at issue if the genetic test results do not favor the parents wishes for the child. This raises health, ethical, and legal arguments which are traditionally at cross-purposes. The issues even hearken back to Roe v. Wade whereby the reason to abort is indisputable. On the other hand, terminating an otherwise healthy fetus can be viewed as selective childbirth, not unlike “the abortion of female fetuses in China”. Having knowledge of what is to come, even in the future of the child’s life is making the difference. More parents are being told genetically determined information about their unborn and existing children, which prior to the advances in the last five years they had no access to. The case relating to paternity is purely a moral one. It focuses on the question of whether incidental information...
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...develop a research initiative that sequence the DNA of about a million volunteers. The process of genome sequencing is complex, but to put it in simpler terms it’s determining the precise number of nucleotides inside of a DNA molecule. Successful DNA sequencing has also lead to a huge increase in biological/medical research and discovery, which is why Obama has put so much money into researching it. Because of all these great promises of mass genome sequencing, there has also been much hype that comes along with it. which leads to the question, is it safe? Another question often brought up in the subject of genome sequencing is how well the laboratories are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Some argue that the...
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...prevent it? This possibility is now reality. Scientists are now able to, trough as little as a salvia sample, explore the human genome. This means that you will be able to learn your body’s millions of biological codes, which are shaping who you are. The magical thing is called DNA. Each person has a unique structure of DNA codes, consisting about 10 million nucleotide polymorphisms (abbreviated SNP’s), which are making us all look, behave and even taste food differently. Where there’s human interest, there’s money. Therefore is an infant industry capitalizing the genetic testing technology, to propose any individual exclusive knowledge about their own DNA. It seems to be a seductive offer. If you someday feel sick ore wonder why Brussels Sprouts don’t appeal to you, DNA will give you the answer. This kind of insight will make you able to look into your future! Or at least; your expected future. DNA doesn’t tell you when you will die, and not from which cause either. It only tells you what chances there is for you getting a curtain decease. Some health care providers argue that the public is unprepared for such information. They don’t mean that people will be able to handle information telling them things about their health, that they might not want to know. They suggest an expert to help put it in context. Amy Harmon, writer of the article “Me Genome – Myself” finds such information addicting. Every time she feels like something is wrong with her body, she will have a morbid...
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...Assignment 3 Rosalinda Gonzalez CollegeAmerica HCA 440 06/08/2013 Assignment 3 Human Genome Project (HGP) was a projected that was coordinated between the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Energy for a 13 year period. What is the Human Genome Project and what medical applications were expected to be the result from this project? What are some of the ethical, legal and social issues that surround the HGP? What are gene patenting and the potential arguments for and against gene patenting? What are my thoughts about the Human Genome Protect and why this was an important projected between the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Energy for a 13 year period. The Human Genome Project was started in 1990, it was supposed to last for 15 years but it only took 13 years complete since the technology was more advanced and accelerated. The goals the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Energy were trying to figure out from this project were to identify all the gene in the human DNA, determine the sequence that make up the pairs of the DNA, store information in databases, improve tools for the analysis for the data, transfer related technologies to a private sector, and address the ethical, legal, and social issues that might arise from this project. Some of the ethical, legal and social issues were the fairness of who would be able to have access for genetic information, who owns the privacy and the confidentiality...
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...The Human Genome Project The biotechnology application that I have chosen is The Human Genome. Biotechnology is define as any technological application that uses biological systems, dead organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use. The human Genome Project is considered a biotechnology application because it produced a reference sequence of the euchromatic human genome, which is used worldwide in biomedical sciences. The Human Genome Project was an international scientific research project with a primary goal to determine the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA and to identify and map the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional standpoint. This project lasted for 13-years and was coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The potential benefits of the project are: It will provide Molecular Medicine which will improve diagnosis of disease, will have earlier detection of genetic predispositions to disease, and provide Gene therapy and control systems for drugs. It will use Energy and Environmental Applications which will use microbial genomics research to create new energy sources (biofuels) and develop environmental monitoring techniques to detect pollutants. Risk Assessment which will assess health damage and risks caused by radiation exposure, including low-dose exposures and exposure to mutagenic chemicals and cancer-causing...
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...Human Genome Project Website Evaluation We are humans and we all eat. But have you ever wondered what’s in that banana you’re eating? Is it really just a simple banana that grew on a tree? Or is it perhaps something much, much more complex? It’s 2013 and a big debated issue is argued on genetically modification of food and organisms. The Human Genome Project (HGP) helps people understand and identify what exactly genetically modified food and organisms are (GMO). Publications and webpages on this site were created by the U.S. Department of Energy Genome Program's Biological and Environmental Research Information System and all other materials were provided by “third parties” and not created by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Human Genome Project started in 1990, coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and National Institutes of Health, and completed their research in 2003. This thirteen-year study was designed for people to understand what genetically modified organisms are. “The project originally was planned to last 15 years, but rapid technological advances accelerated the completion date to 2003” (Human). When one first enters the site, they can see there are many tabs at the top of the page and side margins directing one to other specific research done by HGP. Along the top of the page, the site provides tabs that explain information on a more in-depth description of genes and what exactly is going on in the microbiology essence, for those who wouldn’t quite...
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...The greatest scientific accomplishment ever is almost complete. What could be a greater accomplishment than man on the moon? Only one thing comes to mind, mapping of the human genome. The human genome is 3.2 billion letters long. Ninety-seven percent of it is useless trash. The Human Genome Project was created a little over a decade ago. With the project coming to an end researchers will be able to figure out exactly how each gene functions--and, more important, malfunctions to trigger deadly illnesses from heart disease to cancer (Time 1999). There is a mad race to see who will finish first. A couple of companies are in the running to finish by 2003. Independently funded Celera Genomics Corp. is in first, closely followed by the Human Genome Project, which is funded by the US government, and behind the most powerful country in the world is The Sanger Centre in England. James Watson and others started the Human Genome Project in 1988. James Watson was also the co-discover of the structure of DNA. The human instruction book was thought to take fifteen years and three billion dollars, but the project is ahead of schedule and under budget. At first people felt that we weren’t ready for the start of the Human Genome Project. The Human Genome Project started off slow, but gained much momentum after key scientist and computers were involved. The Celera Genomics company is in the lead because Craig Venter the leading scientist of Celera. Pharmaceutical companies fund Celera Genomics...
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...Introduction Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is now becoming a routine analysis when there are large-scale genotype data and phenotypes data available from a population. However, conventional statistical techniques used in GWAS have yielded very little information considering the amount of data available. Low statistical power due to weak genetic effects is a possible explanation for this but applying simplistic tests for association could be another reason. For instance, currently there is no established method for detecting pleiotropy, that is when a single genetic variant influences multiple outcomes, from genome-wide scans, and generally phenotypes, which are often strongly biologically related, are rarely modelled together. Therefore, a new method that can identify pleiotropic genetic loci and model related phenotypes from genome-wide association study is needed. Method In this project, a novel method for the detection of pleiotropic genetic effects based on the genome-wide association study approach is developed. The method models multiple phenotypes simultaneously and in doing so may improve the power to detect genetic variants effecting phenotypes as well as identifying pleiotropic effects. The Usual way of association testing between genetic variants and phenotypes of interest, where a single phenotype or trait is the response variable and a single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) is the predictor, is reversed such that SNP is the outcome and multiple phenotypes...
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...The Human Genome Project was a project to help better understand the genetic makeup of the human species. The Human Genome Project Began officially in 1990, the U.S. Human Genome Project was a 13-year attempt coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The mission originally was intended to last 15 years, but quick scientific advances accelerated the achievement date to 2003. Cloning is the process of replicating the genes present within a DNA molecule, in order to be able to make copies of an organism. I remember the first cloning of a mammal; it was a sheep by the name of “Dolly,” whom was successfully cloned in 1997, by a group of Scottish scientists. Cloning could make it achievable for us to get modified organisms. But we must also look at how will cloning fit into our ethical values? DNA fingerprints are often used as evidence in criminal law cases and with paternity issues. Different from a usual fingerprint that occurs only on the fingertips and can be changed by operations, a DNA fingerprint is identical for all cells, tissues, and organs of an individual. It can’t be distorted by any known procedure. I believe DNA fingerprinting is resourceful in criminal cases, but there must be limits set as to how far the government can go into obtaining our DNA. Genetic engineering is any procedures by which genetic material are changed in a way to make possible the creation of substances or functions. Genetic Engineering is most commonly...
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...Hey there, and welcome to another MP3 tutorial. This is Eric Simon and I’ll be guiding you through today’s topic: natural selection. Natural selection is relatively easy to comprehend, and yet it is largely responsible for the amazing diversity and complexity of life on this planet. First, let’s take a look at a well-documented example of natural selection in action, infection by HIV. Then let’s dissect the essential elements of the process. Finally, we’ll wrap up with some other examples of natural selection. Sound good? Let’s get started. Let’s begin by discussing the tragic course of an HIV infection and the role that natural selection plays. Stay with me on this. It will take a bit of time to summarize how HIV works, but this will be time well spent. HIV is a slow-acting virus that eventually devastates the immune system. When HIV first invades a host, it is able to reproduce rapidly. This is because it takes a while for the immune system to muster a response to the new invader. About six to eight weeks after a person is first infected with HIV, they may experience flu-like symptoms due to the high number of viruses in their bloodstream. Normally, the immune system starts to get the upper hand at this point and the symptoms go away. If this person’s blood is sampled, the virus is still present but the person appears to have normal health. Then much later—sometimes several years later—symptoms return. This means that the immune system has been overwhelmed and the disease...
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...scientist had successfully created genetically modified monkeys using a new procedure that literally allows scientist to cut-and-paste DNA into living organisms. The two macaques were the first primates to ever have their genetic makeup altered. Though not without backlash, as animal rights activist considered such a feat inhumane. The means of which this was done was through a genome edition procedure called Crispr. Two genes were manipulated in monkey eggs before transferring them to surrogate mothers. Crispr on its own is something amazing, allowing scientist to replace faulty genes and replace them with healthy ones. It's so precise, it can even correct single letter spelling mistakes in DNA coding. The entire idea of this was to create monkeys that carry genetic faults that lead to diseases in humans. Through this means, scientist could test human organs grown in labs and used to test drugs (Young S. 2014). While these prime apes seem to be last resorts, as they would rather focus on using Crispr to changes the genes in human organ tissue in labs and give them genetic faults that cause diseases ("Crispr genome engineering," ). This was entirely one huge step for humans in the field of science and bettering ourselves. One key thing to note is that through this, we may one day have a period in which humans are immune to HIV. This article shows advancements in genetics, but also shows regression as well. It's a primary example of what we can accomplish in terms of curiosity...
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...Hope Hayman DNA Bar Coding: Is Convenient and Accurate for Taxonomy Studies Introduction— Different samples of “wild card” subjects and given subjects (Drosophila melanogaster and the Coquina clams) genomic DNA were acquired and isolated through several steps to amplify the cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) genes. Through comparisons of these wild cards and given subjects mitochondrial CO1 genes with the BLAST library, it was revealed that DNA bar coding is convenient and accurate for taxonomy study. DNA bar coding utilizes the amplification and purification of a specific region of the mitochondrial genome by polymerase chain reactions (PCR). DNA bar coding then uses the PCR products ran in gel electrophoresis to analyze. Materials and Methods— DNA Isolation The wild card specimens were obtained and brought to the lab for DNA isolation. The first step in DNA isolation was to lyse the specimen. The specimens were first homogenized individually in 1.5 mL microtubes. 20 µL of proteinase K was added to each homogenized sample. 200 µL of AL buffer was then added to each sample. The samples were vertexed and incubated at 70oC for 10 minutes. After the incubation, 200 µL of 100% ethanol was added and vortexed again. The next step in DNA isolation is to bind the DNA. The lysate was transferred to a spin column and centrifuged at 8000 rpm for 1 minute, and the flow through was discarded. 500 µL of AW1 buffer was added, then centrifuged at 8000 rpm for 1 minute, and the flow through was...
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...The Caldwell Laboratory at The University of Alabama is studying diseases of the nervous system through the model organism C. elegans. This organism was the first animal to have its entire genome revealed through a genome project, and 60% of genes affiliated with human diseases have an ortholog in C. elegans. Earthworms are transparent, making organ study simple, and they have a defined anatomy. Additionally, their two-week lifespan make them extremely attractive as a model organism. Almost all individuals of this species are female hermaphrodites with a small minority being true males. It is estimated that there are precisely 302 neurons in C. elegans as opposed to 100 billion in humans. Because of the defined neuronal connectivity in...
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...also genetically modified. (Millstone and Lang, 2008; Black, 2010). Genetic Modification (GM) occurs when the genome, or genetic make-up of an organism, has DNA from another organism grafted into it. The resulting organism has some desirable traits, such as herbicide resistance, insect resistance, or disease resistance. The first product resulting from genetic modification was a tomato with increased shelf life. However this first product was a failure. For genetic modification to be successful there needs to be a team of individuals working together, a conventional plant breeder, biotechnologist, and an agronomist. The Flavr Savr team lacked sufficient plant breeders and agronomists and relied almost solely upon the biotechnologists. The lack of understanding of yield characteristics and field performance in addition to them higher cost versus conventional varieties all contributed to the failure of the product (Kramer and Redenbaugh, 1994; Martineau, 2001). One of the biggest fractions of GMs is called Bt, named for Bacillus thuringiensis a bacterium that forms a crystalline toxin that kills caterpillars. Biotechnologists moved the gene from the bacteria into the plant genome by using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. This method allows for low copies of DNA to be inserted into the receptive genome. There are other methods of introgression of foreign DNA into a genome such as the biolistic method or the gene gun. Which makes use of gold nano pellets which are ‘shot’ into the target...
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