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Evaluating the U.S. Human Genome Project. Edition No. 1
VDM Publishing House, March 2009, Pages: 192
This book, Evaluating the U.S. Human Genome Project,
presents a comprehensive policy appraisal of a
large-scale science program. Sponsored in the United
States by the National Institutes of Health and
Department of Energy, the Human Genome Project (HGP)
endeavored to sequence a reference human genome. A
genome is the complete set of DNA comprised of
nucleotide bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and
guanine, in a cell’s nucleus. The HGP’s scientific
goal was to determine the order of these chemical
bases within the 23 pairs of chromosomes. Project
promoters justified the public investment, $3.3
billion, with assurances that the HGP would lead to
public health benefits. Project leaders also pledged
to address harms of genome research and technology by
establishing Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications
programs. Though a scientific success, the HGP has
not lived up to common interest expectations. The
HGP’s technical design facilitated efficient
sequencing but isolated the project from its larger
social context and excluded non-scientist
stakeholders from decision making. The book offers
recommendations to help human genome research and
technology serve its public purposes.
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