Genome mapping: power tools for 21st century
By Eleni Berger
CNN.com Health Editor
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A computer monitor displays DNA being sequenced. The four colors represent the four chemicals that make up the instructions for DNA.
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(CNN) -- The headlines, when the news broke, left little doubt about the importance of the story.
The near-completion of the human genome project was hailed as a "milestone," a "boon to medicine," a "technological triumph" in which resides the promise of the 21st century. The discovery stole the spotlight from other health-news behemoths like the AIDS epidemic in Africa, the growing incidence of diabetes, and the heartbreak of families dealing with Alzheimer's disease.
Did the genome deserve such hoopla? Absolutely.
While the gravity of diseases like AIDS, Alzheimer's and diabetes is undeniable, the promise of the human genome project is doubly so.
More than any other recent medical discovery, the mapping of the human genome offers the tantalizing prospect of one day providing treatments -- and even cures -- to some of the world's most devastating diseases, including diabetes and Alzheimer's.
Even before the genome breakthrough was announced, scientists had discovered the genetic defects that cause conditions such as cystic fibrosis and Down syndrome. But many other conditions have genetic components that remain elusive.
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Dr. Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, described the genome as a "set of power tools" that will "dramatically" speed up the discovery of what causes various illnesses.
Armed with that information, researchers can develop treatments or cures while doctors help their patients avoid behaviors that might cause a certain genetic defect to kick in. Someone with a genetic propensity for heart disease, for example, could be better counseled about healthy eating and activity levels and more closely monitored for symptoms of disease.
The mapping of the human genome is also important because of the controversial issues of privacy and privileges it raises.
The prospect of genetic discrimination looms large. We will be compelled to determine who should have access to an individual's genetic information and how such information may -- or may not -- be used. Ensuring fair access to the genome's breakthrough is also a concern.
Such profound issues cannot be resolved quickly or easily. And all of them transcend national boundaries, meaning nations with differing interests will have to attain extraordinary levels of cooperation to reach any agreement.
These complexities are precisely what make the human genome such an important and enduring story. Like a good novel, the developments that will arise from the genome project, both good and bad, promise to keep us clamoring for the sequel.
The issue is sure to transcend national borders.
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