Does the Human Genome Project affect the moral standards of society? Can the information produced by it become a beneficial asset or a moral evil? These are just some of the questions that arise as a result of the genetic advances in Science nowadays. What really is the Human Genome Project? What is the morality behind?.
The Human Genome Project is a worldwide research effort with the goal of analyzing the structure of human DNA and determining the location of the estimated 100,000 human genes. The DNA of a set of model organisms will be studied to provide the information necessary for understanding the functioning of the human genome. The information gathered by the human genome project is expected to be the source book for biomedical science in the twenty-first century and will be of great value to the field of medicine. The project will help us to understand and eventually treat more than 4,000 genetic diseases that affect mankind. The scientific products of the human genome project will include a resource of genomic maps and DNA sequence information that will provide detailed information about the structure, organization, and characteristics of human DNA, information that constitutes the basic set of inherited "instructions" for the development and functioning of the human being. Thus, the human genome project addresses several ethical, legal, and social controversial issues regarding the matter.
Logically speaking, the human genome project posses a lot of social benefits for the society. This project will be a great jump in understanding human genes which will provide us with many answers we would like to know, and many that we haven't thought about yet. Genome maps of other organisms will be provided so we can compare them to the human genome. Information generated and technologies developed will revolutionize future biological explorations. Genes involved in various genetic diseases will be found, and further studies will lead to an understanding of how those genes contribute to genetic diseases.
