Celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the Human Genome Project

Posted by Carolyn Martin on April 24th, 2018 Posted in: Health Literacy, Health Observances
Tags: genetics, genomics

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April 25th marks the 15th anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is commemorating this milestone and other genomic advances by showcasing 15 ways that genomics has transformed our world. From April 5 through April 25 you can learn about a new milestone in genomics that has transformed our world such as:

• When scientists agreed to use the one “reference” human genome sequence generated by the Human Genome Project, it became easier to determine differences among people’s genomes on a much larger scale. We have since learned that human genomes differ from one other in all sorts of ways: sometimes at a single base, and sometimes in chunks of thousands of bases.
• The ability to read the human genome quickly and cheaply has led to substantial advances in discovering the causes of rare disorders. Many families have gone through years of “diagnostic odysseys,” going from one specialist to another trying to find the root cause for their family member’s rare disorder.
• Genomics helps us understand the biology of organisms across the world: why are some faster or smarter than others? Why have some gone extinct, while others are resilient to environmental changes? What do their genomes teach us about our own?

Check out the ’15 for ’15 Celebration to read all 15 ways genomics has impacted our world as well as other DNA Day events.