The Human Genome Project
The human genome, that is the complete set of all human genes, has been described as a blueprint, a biological instruction manual, a living puzzle, and in many other grand metaphoric ways. The Human Genome Project aimed to map our genome, to develop an understanding of “all the genes of human beings”. In 1990, the initial planning for this project, which began in 1984, had been completed, with a suggested timeline for completion of 15 years, with a projected cost of $3 billion. Four years ahead of schedule, the first draft of the human genome was published in Nature 2001, and with this publication came both the promise of its use in the treatment and prevention of diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s. In 2003 the project was declared complete and the success was noted as one of the greatest international research collaborations of all time, in part due to the number of researchers and scientists who contributed to the project, but also through the “Bermuda Principles” that ensured free and public access of all genomic sequence information, an often uncommon practice in research. This big science approach required collaboration both internationally and across academic disciplines, allowing for the success of this complex project through data sharing and the development of new tools for sequencing DNA.
Many versions of the human genome have been published since the project’s completion, most recently in 2021. This new version adds over 200 million base pairs to the 2013 reference genome, accounting for the 8% of genomic data that was still missing from the human genomic road map. However, the human genome cannot yet be declared final as researchers working on the project estimate that 0.3% of the most recent version may contain errors. Despite these errors in the newest human reference genome, researchers are now able to look at the repeat-rich regions of chromosomes whose functions are not yet well understood. Clearly, the completion of the Human Genome Project marked only the beginning of its implications and lessons from this project have continued to inspire the tackling of other complex biological and genomic research projects.
Suggested Reading
Jasanoff, S. 2019. Can Science Make Sense of Life?, Wiley Press.
Keller, Evelyn Fox. 2002. The Century of the Gene, Harvard University Press.
Kay, L. E. 1996. The molecular vision of life : Caltech, the rockefeller foundation, and the rise of the new biology, Oxford University Press.
Ho, Mae-Wan. 2011. “The Human Genome Map: The Death of Genetic Determinism and Beyond.” Synthesis/Regeneration 25. http://www.greens.org/s-r/25/25-19.html.
The implications of DNA data storage are wide ranging and should be understood through the nuanced historical, political, infrastructural and social context of DNA research and technology. Each of the modules on this site offer a unique way for you to conceptualize and question genomic media.