Academician Answers 1000 Questions on High-Tech - Academician Answers Young People's Questions

Author: Zhou Kun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: What is the specific content of the Human Genome Project? A magical counting genius from India once competed in a square root competition with an electronic computer in the United States, where the computer took 60 seconds, while she only took 56 seconds. In the United States, there is a little boy who was born with a body lacking resistance to bacteria and lived his entire life in a sterile plastic room. Modern geneticists believe that the appearance of India's counting prodigy and the boy in the United States with congenital immune deficiency are both related to genetic genes. How can everyone be a little smarter and healthier? This is the Human Genome Project.
A person has approximately 100,000 genes, and any gene problem can cause a hereditary disease. However, humanity's understanding of its own genetic secrets is still preliminary. Thus, under the advocacy of famous American biologist and Nobel laureate Watson and other scientists, the Human Genome Project began in 1990. This project envisions mobilizing the human and financial resources of the world to complete the decryption of all human genes within 15 years, with a budget of 3 billion US dollars. After the completion of this grand project, it will lay the foundation for humanity to understand the essence of life, develop human potential, and diagnose and treat genetic diseases.
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In April 2003, scientists from six countries—China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, and Germany—completed the joint mapping of the human genome sequence after 13 years of effort.
In the May 18, 2006, issue of Nature, scientists from the United States and the United Kingdom reported that the gene sequencing of the last chromosome—the 1st chromosome—was completed. This marks the successful completion of the 16-year Human Genome Project.