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The Human Genome Project: Implications for Health and Disability / Ethical, Legal and Social Issues

The Human Genome Project was an international collaborative effort by several major research institutions in the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and China. The main goal was to completely map all the genes of human beings – together known as our ‘genome’.

The purpose of this project was to identify the tens of thousands of different genes in the human body, and to locate their place on the different chromosomes, resulting in a ’map’ of the genome. This information will make it possible to learn more about the role of genes and the whole genome in health and disease.

The Human Genome Project was declared completed in April 2003. You can read a summary of the successes of the project and the potential it provides in the press release issued in April 2003.

Although the project was officially completed in 2003, the information provided by the 3 billion DNA letters in the 30,000 – 40,000 genes contained on our chromosomes will take many more years to fully understand. The Human Genome Project website provides information on the various discoveries that have occurred both during and subsequent to the project’s completion.

Follow these links to read our comments about the implications for health and disability, and the ethical, legal and social issues, or go the the following sites for more information:

Introduction to the Human Genome Project - from the site of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Issues in Genetics and Health - an introduction to the ethical, legal and social issues from NHGRI.
Medicine and the New Genetics - from the Human Genome information site of the US Department of Energy.
Fact Sheets - from NHGRI give detailed summary information about the project, the technology and the issues.