The Human Genome Project is the largest biological project ever undertaken. The project goals are to:

• Identify variations in the human genetic code that cause disease
• Determine how individual genes play a role in health and disease
• Analyze the genetic codes of model organisms to help find human genes
• Develop efficient technology to sequence DNA
• Develop methods to collect, analyze, and store genomic information o Make the human DNA sequence available to the scientific community and the public
• Train scientists for genomic research and analysis
• Examine and propose solutions regarding ethical, legal, and social implications of genomic research

The results are anticipated to change the way we understand disease and the various life processes involved in human existence. We are living in the most exciting time in medicine. In June 2000, scientists triumphantly announced they had deciphered the human genome, the blueprint for human life. This announcement did not mark the end, but in a sense, only the beginning. The project is now in Phase II, and this involves producing a "finished" blueprint that reexamines and fills in remaining gaps, increasing the overall accuracy of the original information to greater than 99.99 percent. The ultimate goal of the project is to produce a complete, high quality human DNA reference by 2003.

What is a genome?