On February 15, 2001, the first draft of a human genome was published. This draft was published in the journal Nature and promises to be the first step into getting significant insights into human biology, medicine, and evolution.
The draft was created by the human genome project, the world’s largest collaborative global research program designed to map and understand human genes completely. The draft sequence covered more than ninety percent of the human genome and represented the exact order of DNA for chemical bases and human chromosomes.
The DNA sequence information was immediately and freely released to the world with no restriction on its use or redistribution. The rough draft was finished in 2000 and announced to the world jointly by President Bill Clinton and British prime minister Tony Blair on June 26th, 2000.
The authors of the Nature publication said that “the science is only part of the challenge. We must also involve society at large in the work ahead. We must set realistic expectations that the most important benefits will not be reaped overnight. Moreover, understanding and wisdom will be required to enjoy that they are implemented broadly and equitably.”[1]
An announcement of a complete genome came on April 14th, 2003.
[1] International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, “Initial Sequencing and Analysis of the Human Genome,” NATURE, no. 409 (February 15, 2001): 860–921.
Leave a Reply