NEW GOALS FOR THE US HUMAN-GENOME-PROJECT - 1998-2003

The Human Genome Project has successfully completed all the major goal s in its current 5-year plan, covering the period 1993-98. A new plan, for 1998-2003, is presented, in which human DNA sequencing will be th e major emphasis. An ambitious schedule has been set to complete the f ull sequence by the end of 2003, 2 years ahead of previous projections . In the course of completing the sequence, a ''working draft'' of the human sequence will be produced by the end of 2001. The plan also inc ludes goals for sequencing technology development; for studying human genome sequence variation; for developing technology for functional ge nomics; for completing the sequence of Caenorhabditis elegans and Dros ophila melanogaster and starting the mouse genome; for studying the et hical, Legal, and social implications of genome research; for bioinfor matics and computational studies; and for training of genome scientist s.