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Our destinies lie in our DNA. Compressed,
at the moment of our conception, into tiny, gossamer bundles,
this 'most golden of molecules' defines each of us uniquely
-- for along its delicate, twisting strands, the alphabet
of life is etched in chemicals that will determine whether
we will be short or tall, healthy or sickly, intelligent
or slow, blond and blue-eyed -- or dark, with smouldering
brown eyes.
Unravelling the complex machinery involved
in this process has been one of modern science's most exciting
achievements, a story of inspiration and dedication (and
occasional lost opportunities) that began with Mendel's
discovery in the nineteenth century of the laws of inheritance.
It has progressed today to the creation of biology's most
ambitious undertaking: the Human Genome Project -- sometimes
known as the Book of Man.
This mighty enterprise, biology's equivalent
of the Apollo moon program, is audacious in scope. It aims
to uncover all the 100,000 genes that control human development
and to detail the DNA alphabet of each. This knowledge is
already revolutionizing our fundamental self-awareness.
The entire molecular process of cancer causation is now
being laid out before us, while the genes responsible for
inherited illnesses, immune disorders (like rheumatoid arthritis
and diabetes), psychiatric disorders and other ailments
are being exposed.
And that is not all. We are learning much
about our own history as a brash new species that poured
out of Africa to conquer the world 100,000 years ago. Forensic
science, and the high-tech hunt for criminals, is also being
transformed. In the process, however, this biological progress
is also raising vital questions about the ethics and moral
side-effects that accompany these radical genetic breakthroughs.
This, then, is The Book of Man, the
story of mankind's greatest voyage of self-discovery, a
history of a fledgling science that will soon change all
our lives.
Sir Walter Bodmer is one of the world's
most distinguished human geneticists, and as former president
of the Human Genome Organisation (Hugo) has gained a unique
perspective of how this great undertaking is progressing.
Robin McKie, science correspondent of
The Observer
since 1982, has followed the story of modern molecular biology's
flowering and has written many articles and books on the
subject.
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