The Human Genome Project was a multi-year, multi-billion dollar international research project. It was arguably the largest and most important of its kind ever performed. However many people don’t understand what the benefits to studying the human genome was, let alone how the findings are applied to anything practical today. Nevertheless, there are many uses for that information, all of them incredibly important.
The Human Genome Project gave scientists a working roadmap of human life. One area this is particularly helpful for was the area of disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment. By studying the genes that cause certain diseases and how they behave inside the human body, scientists are now able to better predict, prevent and in some cases pre-treat the disease before it even presents itself. This sort of advancement in medicine happens once in a generation, and the HGP provided enough information to last for years to come.
Another area where the study of DNA has become crucial is the study of crime forensics. DNA has become one million times more incriminating and accurate that fingerprints or other types of evidence. Because a person’s DNA is specific to them and only them, finding DNA at the scene of a crime is about as close as it gets to being caught red-handed. This sort of criminal acccuracy would not have been possible without the Human Genome Project.
Finally, the data collected in the Human Genome Project has served as the inspriation and cause of many of today’s leading solutions in the area of biofuel. By studying the genomes of plants and other naturally occuring living organisms, scientist have been able to make advancements in the way we power our cars, businesses and lives.
Although the Human Genome Project sounds like science fiction, or like research that has little practical application, nothing could be farther from the truth. By studying the human genome, scientists have been able to better understand diseases, fuels, and criminal evidence, and advancements in those fields as well as many others continue even today.