New Questions Throughout its duration, the Human Genome Project worked to identify and address ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding the availability of human genome data and its powerful new technologies. The issues, including privacy, fairness in the use of and access to genomic information, medical issues, and commercialization, are complex. For example, who owns and controls genetic information? Is genetic privacy different from medical privacy? Who should have access to personal genetic information, and how will it be used? Right now, these questions are hypothetical, but they may not be for long. In May 2008, President George Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which prohibits U.S. insurance companies and employers from discriminating on the basis of information derived from genetic tests. Other protective laws may soon follow.

What's Next? Many more sequencing projects are underway, helped along by powerful new technologies. You can expect an ever-growing database of information from microbial, animal, and plant genomes in the years ahead. Each of these will have its own mysteries to be explored, not to mention the fact that we still don't fully understand the functions of as many as 50 percent of the human genes thus far discovered.

The 1000 Genomes Project, launched in 2008, will study the genomes of 1000 people in an effort to produce a detailed catalogue of human variation. Data from the project will be used in future studies of development and disease, and the information may hold the key to successful research on new drugs and therapies to save human lives and preserve health.

Perhaps the most important challenge that lies ahead is to understand how all the “parts” of cells—genes, proteins, and many other molecules—work together to create complex living organisms. Future efforts may provide a deeper understanding of the molecular processes underlying life and may influence how we view our own place in the global ecosystem.

14.3 Assessment

Review Key Concepts

1. 1. Review How do molecular biologists identify genes in sequences of DNA?

   2. Use Analogies How is shotgun sequencing similar to doing a jigsaw puzzle?

2. 1. Review What is the Human Genome Project?

   2. Form an Opinion Judge the potential impact of the Human Genome Project on both scientific thought and society. How might the project be used to benefit humankind? What potential problems might it create?

WRITE ABOUT SCIENCE

Persuasion

3. Scientists may one day be able to use genomics and molecular biology to alter a child's inherited traits. Under what circumstances, if any, should this ability be used? When should it not be used? Write a persuasive paragraph expressing your opinion. (Hint: Use specific examples of traits to support your ideas.)

Table of Contents