Human Genome Project’s Purpose and Findings

The main strategic task of the Human Genome Project for the future is to study DNA variations at the level of individual nucleotides in different organs and cells of individuals and to identify these differences. Typically, single mutations in human DNA occur on average per thousand unchanged bases. An analysis of such variations will allow not only creating individual gene portraits and thereby treating many diseases but also determining differences between populations and high-risk regions, drawing conclusions about the need to first clean territories from various contaminants, and identifying production that is dangerous for staff genomes.

The results of the completed part of the project allow scientists to judge the role of genes in the formation and functioning of organs and tissues of the human body. It turned out that most of the genes needed to form the brain and maintain its activity, and least of all, to create red blood cells. The Human Genome Project allowed researchers to understand and set directions to critical issues of genetic diseases, gene repair, and evolution. They are caused by violations of the hereditary apparatus, that is, genes, including in somatic cells, and not just in reproductive organs. Identifying the molecular causes of gene damage is a crucial project outcome. The number of pathogenic genes studied is growing rapidly, and after a while, it will be possible to know all the genes responsible for certain pathologies. This will help to understand the genetic programs of the development and functioning of the human body, in particular, to understand the causes of cancer and aging.

Knowledge of the molecular basis of diseases will help their early diagnosis and, therefore, more successful treatment. Targeted drug supply of affected cells, replacement of diseased genes with healthy ones, metabolic management, and many other science fiction dreams are turning into real methods of modern medicine before the public’s eyes. Knowing the structure of genomes, scientists will come closer to unraveling the mechanisms of evolution. In particular, its stage, such as the division of living beings into prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Until recently, prokaryotes included archaebacteria, which in many ways differs from other representatives of this group of microorganisms, but also consisting of only one cell without a separate nucleus but with a DNA molecule in the form of a double helix. When the genome of archaebacteria was deciphered a year ago, it became clear that this was a separate branch on the evolutionary tree.