Interpreting the human genome sequence is one of the major scientific endeavors of our time. In February 2001, when the human genome reference sequence was initially released (Lander et al. 2001), our understanding of the encoded contents was surprisingly limited. It was perplexing to many in the scientific community when we realized that the human genome contains only ;21,000 distinct protein-...

subject,” because individuals who donate DNA samples for research studies necessarily reveal sensitive information not only about themselves, but also about others geneti cally linked to them. An ethical quandary arises from the fact that as virtual research subjects, these genetically linked others may be harmed by research, yet traditional informed consent protocols give them no say about whe...

The Human Genome Project has increased the rate of DNA sequence accumulation to the point where information management has become a formidable task. The central repositories for this avalanche of data, GenBank, EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory), and DDBJ (DNA Data Bank of Japan), continue to accumulate DNA sequences at an unprecedented rate. For example, the total number of nucleotid...

Now that all 30,000 or so genes that make up the human genome have been deciphered, pharmaceutical industries are emerging to capitalize the custom based drug treatment. Understanding human genetic variation promises to have a great impact on our ability to uncover the cause of individual variation in response to therapeutics. The study of association between genetics and drug response is calle...

The Human Genome Project has become a reality. Building on a debate that dates back to 1985, several genome projects are now in full stride around the world, and more are likely to form in the next several years. Italy began its genome program in 1987, and the United Kingdom and U.S.S.R. in 1988. The European communities mounted several genome projects on yeast, bacteria, Drosophila, and Arabid...