The Human Genome Project and public policy

The Human Genome Project is a massive government and privately funded under taking to sequence the entire human genome and discover all 80,000 human ge nes in less than 15 years. As the project nears completion in the first dec ade of the 21st century, the ramifications of public availability of this v ast amount of biological information are likely to pervade society. The leg al, ethical and social issues raised by the genome project and associated b iological research are expected to have a profound and long lasting impact on daily life. How society deals with the many emerging issues involving ge netic privacy, designer babies, and the transformation of medical care amon g others will be a major focus of public and governmental discussion in the next decade.