The Human Genome Project - Brutes or Angels: Human Possibility in the Age of Biotechnology - page 115

tations in his genome associated with an increased risk of disease was pro-
foundly impressed at how little the counselors were able to advise him. 7
Benefits from the HGP and What's Coming Next
Aside from the invaluable raw genetic data about our species provided by
the hGP, its direct and indirect spin-off benefits are innumerable. Two
major classes of benefits are those from international collaboration and co-
operation and those from applications of the technology and data gener-
ated by the project. Potential applications of hGP research include person-
alized medicine, disease detection and health risk assessment, drug design
based on the molecular basis of diseases, gene therapy, energy sources from
biofuels, environmental remediation, pollution detection, reduction of at-
mospheric carbon dioxide, a better understanding of human evolution and
ancient human migrations, DnA forensics, matching organ donors with
recipients, and agricultural products. Gene therapy and some other spec-
tacularly imaginative applications of genomics are discussed in chapters 5
and 9, respectively.
The stunning success of the ihGsC shows that the scientific commu-
nity and its “way of knowing,” i.e., the process of science itself, transcends
ethnic and sociopolitical differences. researchers at twenty sequencing
centers in six countries showed the world what an international network
of collaboration toward a common goal can accomplish. relationships and
the communication networks established during the thirteen-year dura-
tion of the hGP not only continue but are expanding. Thousands of re-
searchers with diverse national and cultural backgrounds, unified by the
findings and organizational structure of the ihGsC, now collaborate in the
genomic analysis of many other species of organisms. Together, they seek
knowledge about how the human genome and other genomes function to-
ward the goal of using genomic information to advance human health and
well- being.
Personal genomics and personalized medicine. Personal genomics, a type of
commercialized genome technology, came on the scene in 2008. it ca-
ters to individuals who seek answers about the ancient ancestry, disease