FREE ESSAY ON DECIPHERING THE CODE OF LIFE - THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

DECIPHERING THE CODE OF LIFE - THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

Deciphering the Code of Life - The Human Genome Project
The study of all genus of various organisms will yield answers to some of the most
intriguing questions about life: how organisms evolved, whether synthetic life will ever
be possible and how to treat a wide range of medical disorders. Human genome contains all
of the biochemical instructions - in the form of the DNA bases A, T, C and G- for making
and containing a human being. The payoff from the reference work will come from
understanding the proteins encoded by the genes.
Proteins not only make up the structural bulk of the human body but also include the
enzymes that carry out the biochemical reactions of life. They are composed of unites
called amino acids linked together in a long string: each string folds in a way that
determines the function of a protein. The order of the amino acids set by the DNA base
sequence of the gene that encodes a given protein, through intermediaries called RNA;
genes that actively make RNA are said to be "expressed". The human gnome project seeks
not just to elucidate all the proteins produced within a human but also to comprehend the
genes that encode the proteins that are expressed, how the DNA sequences of those genes
stack up against comparable genes of other species, how genes vary within the human
species and how DNA sequences translate into observable characteristics. Layers of
information built on top of the DNA sequence will reveal the knowledge imbedded in the
DNA. These data will fuel advances in biology for at least the next century. In a
virtuous cycle, the more scientist learn, the more they will be able to extrapolate,
hypothesize, and understand. 
Will the three dimensional structures of proteins be predictable from their amino acid
sequences? A protein's structure is conserved much more than its amino acid sequence is.
Many different amino acid sequences can lead to proteins of various proteins by studying
a representative subset of proteins in detail.
Recently an international group of consortium intends to get the most information out of
each new structure to group proteins into families that are most likely the same
architectural features. Then the members of the consortium plan to target representatives
of each family for examination by pain staking physical techniques.
Structural biologist work a group of proteins into categories fro the practical aim of
solving structures efficiently. The fact that proteins are so amenable to classification
reverberates with biological meaning. It reflects how life on the earth evolved and opens
the door to a question cameral to understand in the phenomenon of life itself. Is there a
set of proteins common to all organisms? What are the biochemical processes required for
life?
Already with several fully sequenced gnomes available- mostly of bacteria- scientist have
started to take inventories of genes conserved among these organisms, guided by the grand
question of what constituted life, at least at the level of a single cell. If scientist
invented a genome that crafts a cell around it self and the cell reproduced reliably, the
exercises would prove that the scientist had deciphered the basic mechanisms of life.
Such an experiment would also raise safety, ethical and theological issues that cannot be
neglected.
Research of single cells will be research of the past. The genome project will spark
similar analysis for 1000 genes and cell components at a time. Within the next
half-century, wit all genes identified and all possible cellular interactions and
reactions charted, pharmacologist developing a drug or toxicologist trying to predict
whether a substance is poisonous may well turn to computer models to answer their
questions. 
Another question asked is will the details of how genes determine mammalian development
become clear? Being able to model a single cell will be impressive, but to understand
fully the life-forms scientist are most familiar with, they will plainly have to consider
additional levels of complexity. Scientist will have to examine how genes and their
products behave in place and time that is in different parts of the body and in a body
that changes over a life span. So far developmental biologists have striven to find
signals that are universally important in establishing an animal's body plan, the
arrangement of its limits and origins.
Understanding the human genome will transform prevention, diagnostic and therapeutic
medicine. Molecular biology has long held out the promise of transforming medicine from a
matter of serendipity to a rational pursuit grounded in a fundamental understanding of
the mechanisms of life. Its findings have begun to infiltrate the practice of medicine;
genomic will hasten the advance. Within fifty years, scientists expect comprehensive
genomies-based on health care to be the norm in the U.S. Scientist will understand the
molecular foundation of diseases, be able to prevent them in many cases, and design
accurate, individual therapies for illness. When the genome is completely open to all,
such studies will reveal the roles of genes that contribute weakly to diseases o n their
own, but also interact with other genes and environmental influences such as diet
infection and prenatal exposure to health.
Within twenty year, novel drugs will be available that derive from a detailed molecular
understanding of common illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The drugs
will target molecules logically and therefore be potent without significant side
effects.
The human species is more homogeneous than many others; as a group, humans display fewer
variations than chimps do. Among humans, the same genetic variations tend to be found
across all population groups, and only a small fraction of the total variation can be
related to differences between groups. This has led to the conclusion that not so long
ago the human species was composed of a small group, perhaps 10,000 individuals over the
earth only recently. The modern humans originated in Africa and dispersed gradually into
the rest of the world, race and ethnicity will prove to be largely social and cultural
ideas; sharp scientifically based boundaries between groups will be found to be
nonexistent.
The tension between scientific advances and the desire to return to a simple and more
"natural" lifestyle will probably intensify as genomic seeps in to mere and more of daily
lives. The challenge will be to maintain a healthy balance and to shoulder collectively
the responsibility for ensuring that the advances arising from genomics are not put to
ill use.