Human Genome, Then and Now - A Conversation With Eric D. Green
Eight years of work, thousands of researchers around the world, $1 billion spent — and finally it was done. On April 14, 2003, a decade ago this week, scientists announced that they had completed the Human Genome Project, compiling a list of the three billion letters of genetic code that make up what they considered to be a sort of everyperson’s DNA.
To commemorate the anniversary, Eric D. Green, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, spoke about what has been accomplished, what it means and what is coming next. Our conversation has been condensed and edited.
++++++++++++
Take us back to that day 10 years ago. Whose genome was sequenced? And why would anyone want to know the genome sequence of some random person? Aren’t we all unique?
The idea all along was not to sequence a person’s genome, but to develop a resource. It would be the sequence of a hypothetical genome, a reference genome. It was meant to represent humanity.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/science/the-human-genome-project-then-and-now.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130416
= new reply since forum marked as read
