Our genes have been in the spotlight for decades. Because this hereditary material actually determines who and what we are. It is therefore interesting to know what our DNA looks like (the base sequence). But this seems like an impossible task, because humans have a large number of base pairs (about 3 billion). Genomics is concerned with this anyway.
Genomics: deciphering the DNA genome
In addition to all the work that needs to be done, you can ask yourself whether scientists have anything better to do. It takes a lot of time and money. People who know something about genetics are familiar with the fact that only a few percent of the total human DNA actually codes. So if you were to decipher the total DNA, a lot of time would be spent on useless work. Yet there is a special field, Genomics, that wants to study the human genome at all costs.
Human Genome Project
Nevertheless, the Human Genome Project was started in 1990. They thought it would take 25 years. However, the table shows that this went much faster. This was caused by a competing company: Celera Genomics. A company that saw money in the entire human DNA. Ultimately, the HGP together with Celera Genomics came out in 2001 with the deciphered genome.
Year | Event |
---|---|
1985 | It is being investigated whether it is feasible to decipher the entire human DNA |
1988 | Establishment of consortium that will clarify the genes |
1990 | Start date of the Human Genome Project |
1995 | The entire genome of the Haemophilus influenza bacterium is known (the first organism) |
1996 | The base order of the first eukaryote is known (baker’s yeast) |
1998 | The company Celera Genomics wants to decipher the entire human DNA in three years |
2001 | Human DNA is disclosed by the Human Genome consortium and Celera Genomics |
Human Genome Project and Research
Two interesting things had been found from the Human Genome Project research:
- The number of genes in humans is estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 (this is the latest estimate, which has had to be adjusted downwards over the course of the project). This was striking because many primitive organisms are not far below this in terms of genes.
- The human genome is very similar to other organisms.
Homology and humans
Examples of homology between organisms:
- Human – Chimpanzee: 97%
- Human – Gorilla: 96%
- Human – Rabbit: 90%