what is the human genome project?

Answer 1

We can find the sequence of DNA, and from that we can determine genes (we know the normal "start" and "stop" codes that mark off a gene for translation to make proteins). From there we can look at genes in lots of people and maybe figure out why some genes don't work quite right, or don't work at all. Up until recently, this was a limited effort - there's so _much_ DNA, and so much of it is not actually associated with any active gene, that it was like picking just a couple leaves off a big tree to study.
The human genome project was a massive effort to get the sequence of all the DNA in humans, so that we could then look through it for unknown active genes, damaged genes, and anything else we were interested in. It's like the difference between having a dictionary with most of the entries not there, and a complete set: you can't look something up in a dictionary if the entry isn't there, but with a complete set you can find things by using a search function. Also, it's much easier to start from a known starting point than to dig around blindly for some information that may or may not be useful. Saves a whole lot of time and money.
Similar genome projects have been done on other organisms, and more are in the works.

Answer 2

The Human Genome Project (HGP) was one of the great feats of exploration in history - an inward voyage of discovery rather than an outward exploration of the planet or the cosmos; an international research effort to sequence and map all of the genes - together known as the genome - of members of our species, Homo sapiens. Completed in April 2003, the HGP gave us the ability to, for the first time, to read nature's complete genetic blueprint for building a human being.

In this section, you will find access to the wealth of information on the history of the HGP, its progress, cast of characters and future.