Abstract
On June 26, 2000, the National Human Genome Research Institute1 and Celera Genomics Corporation2 announced the completion--or the beginning of the end--of the formal Human Genome Project (HGP). Officially begun in 1990, the project has a goal of mapping the 80,000-100,000 genes (estimates range from 50,000 to 140,000 genes) to the 24 human chromosomes (autosomes #1-22 and the X and Y sex chromosomes) and to sequence the 3 to 3.3 billion basepairs of DNA comprising the human genome. The HGP was projected to cost up to $3 billion and to take fifteen years to complete. It was begun with a common dream and faith--the dream that such knowledge would substantially benefit humankind; the faith that science would develop the necessary technology to make this project feasible and that humankind would use this knowledge wisely.