One of the great researches in history, The Human Genome Project (HGP) that started in the year 1990 and was completed in 2003 was a collaborative venture to read the complete genetic blueprint of Homo sapiens (Genetics Home Reference, 2016). Basically this would be done by determining the sequence of the genome and mapping out all of the genes. The goal of this project is to look for a permanent cure and treat diseases by going deep into its genetic roots (Genome.gov, 2015).
The results of the HGP will be beneficial in molecular medicine. It will help improve the early detection and treatment of diseases. There will also be huge improvement in the prevention of diseases. Gene therapy will be one of the offshoots of the HGP. I think there will be innovative new treatments that will target the very cause of the disease through the genetic mapping (Dale, 1999).
Because scientists already have knowledge on the complete set of DNA which contains the genetic information, they can devise innovative approaches to treatment. A missing or defective protein can be replaced or a drug treatment can be formulated specifically for this defective protein.
In the field of cancer, they are looking into new ways to catalog cancer genes to help pave a way for more specific therapies and treatment approaches to cancer. Genomic profiling wherein patients can have their tumors profiled for mutations is now being practiced in some big institutions (Benowitz, 2013).
HGP has also paved the way for developing new research ventures and projects like The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Pan-Cancer initiative. They are changing the ways of understanding and attacking cancer by profiling the similarities in genetic mutation of different types of cancer. Instead of targeting a specific abnormal gene in a certain cancer, they are looking at the entire chromosomal region. They are now putting cancer in a different context and a larger cancer picture (Benowitz, 2013).
References
Benowitz, S. (2013). 2013 News Feature: As genomics breaches cancer walls, researchers forge new treatment paths. Genome.gov. Retrieved 8 February 2016, from https://www.genome.gov/27555887
Dale, T. (1999). Human Genome Project Essay. Ndsu.edu. Retrieved 8 February 2016, from https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~mcclean/plsc431/students99/dale.htm
Genetics Home Reference,. (2016). The Human Genome Project. Retrieved 7 February 2016, from http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/hgp?show=all
Genome.gov,. (2015). All About The Human Genome Project (HGP). Retrieved 7 February 2016, from http://www.genome.gov/10001772
