Genome Project Complete

ByABC News
December 22, 2000, 10:24 AM

W A S H I N G T O N, June 26 -- Scientists announced today that they have cracked most of the genetic code, unlocking the secrets of human DNA.

This is a great day, President Clinton said at a White House event to commemorate the achievement by two rival groups the publicly funded Human Genome Project and the private Celera Genomics.

Experts consider the decoding of the human gene structure to be one of historys great scientific milestones, sort of the biological equivalent of landing on the moon.

Most Wondrous Map Ever Produced

President Clinton compared the genetic maps revealed today to the maps that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark presented to President Thomas Jefferson nearly two centuries ago.

Today the world is joining us to celebrate a map of even greater significance, he said. Without a doubt this is the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by humankind.

What Celera and the publicly funded consortium offered are working drafts of the genome. The versions offer broad outlines of our thousands of genes. In its finished form, the decoded human genome will effectively provide a guidebook to the human body, which may become crucial in diagnosing and treating disease.

Each genome contains 30,000-100,000 genes holding the basic information that makes us who we are: the color of our eyes, our intelligence, the diseases to which we are susceptible and more. Some 3.1 billion pieces of DNA make up human life. When all the genetic information is gathered it will contain enough information to fill 200 telephone books.

Doctors and scientists may be able to use this information to create new drugs and treatments, and even cure disease. Scientists may be able to tell whether someone has the gene for Parkinsons disease, for example, and then prescribe a treatment.

Fast Finish The push to decode the human genome began about 10 years ago when scientists from the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health recommended to Congress that the government fund the effort in a 15-year project.