Technology and the Human Genome Project :: Essays Papers

Technology and the valet Genome standTechnology is changing the way the arena works in well-grounded ways at an unprecedented rate. As we speak, scientists in labs around the world are decoding the remaining portion of the genome map. One day (even now), with the breeding compiled in GenBank, scientists can discover new drugs, new methods of gene therapy, and some other preventive measures which will vastly improve the quality of life (NCBI 1). David Smith, antecedently a director of the Department of Energy, said, These are exciting and challenging clock for biological researchers. The wealth of information and capabilities now macrocosm generated by the dissimilar genome projects and other biological endeavors will lead over the next twain decades to more insights into living systems than have been amassed in the past both millennia. biota is truly undergoing a revolution (Walters 545). There are only two major problems facing researchers in their efforts to put the mass ive amounts (terrabytes) of data generated from the Human Genome Project (HGM) to use. The first and most prohibitive problem is cost. Over a billion dollars have already been sank into the project, which was spent on both underdeveloped new technologies to make the gene sequencing process more efficient and cost effective, and of course the actual gene mapping (Pennisi 82). Although the expense is extreme, the HGM is popular bounteous that funding is still available. Countries who were not previously involved are gaining divert in the project. Japan, for example, has a proposed budget of $570 million to invest in genomic research, which is, considerably more than the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute expects to spend (Normile et al. 84). The secondly problem facing scientists is the current lack of computer hardware and software program that are powerful enough to effectively use the data that is being gathered. One area of genome research that requires more advan ced technology is proteomics, which is the national of protein interactions (for an in-depth explanation of proteomics, visit www.npr.org and listen). New developments in bioinformatics would enhance the ability of researchers to manipulate, collect, and go data more quickly and in new ways (Pennisi 85). Considering the detail that the number of proteins is predicted to be in the millions, new computers and technologies that can process much(prenominal) large amounts of data efficiently must be developed. New and unplanned uses of the technologies developed from genome research are being found.