In what Bill Clinton called the biggest scientific advance of the century, two groups of rival scientists yesterday jointly announced that they have succeeded in deciphering the human genome 47 years after the structure of DNA was first discovered.
The genome -- the set of instructions that defines an organism -- consists of two sets of 23 giant DNA molecules. Each set contains a total of 3 billion chemical units.
Clinton described the research as "one of the most important, most wondrous maps ever produced by humankind."
Two rival groups -- the Celera Corporation and the Human Genome Project, or HGP, were responsible for the discovery, the result of a two year race to map the genome.
"It ranks with Watson and Crick's discovery of DNA," said C. Robertson McClung, a Professor of Biology at the College.
"It will have a huge impact in the study of disease and health care as well as the understanding of human biology and the biology of a number of animals," he added.
The Dartmouth Ethics Institute, coincidentally, has been hosting a two-week long Faculty Summer Institute on teaching the implications of the Human Genome Project that began on June 19.
The project is intended to study the ethical, legal and social implications genome mapping is likely to produce and is intended to train teachers from other colleges and universities interested in developing and teaching multi-disciplinary ethics courses.
The Institute has sponsored lectures addressing questions such as "Why should we study genes?," "Who should have access to my genome?," "Who owns the genome?," and "Should we be changing our genes?"
One of the most important ethical worries posed by this discovery is genetic discrimination.
Although the image of A Brave New World in which genetic testing is used in everything from college admission to job interviews is troublesome, it seems far away and difficult to imagine. Yet there are a number of other not-so-difficult to imagine risks.
Many specifically question the future of insurance coverage. Privacy issues involved in an insurance company's right to know an individual's genetic predisposition to disease in order to set rates have many ethicists worried.
One of the most contested implications of genome mapping is prenatal testing. While doctors already have the ability to test for diseases such as Downs Syndrome, there are fears that these tests will multiply until qualities such as height and IQ are tested for and consequently engineered.
Although the technology for this engineering has yet to be developed, questions like this have spawned as much apprehension as excitement over yesterday's announcement.
Many scientists have also felt a certain chagrin that a commercial rival upstaged the Human Genome Project, an altruistic and open venture.
No matter what scientists were actually the victors, however, the findings have enormous implications for the future of science, specifically the study of disease.
"In one fell swoop having the sequence with take years off of effort to clone individual genes," said McClung.
Scientists will also be able to analyze the manner in which groups of genes work together which will allow them to look at how they might be altered in schizophrenia, manic depression and other disorders.
Knowing where individual genes lie will provide scientists with new possibilities.
"Scientists will be able to find the gene that allows them to study the protein product that is defective in specific diseases," said McClung.
"The map will contribute to the mechanistic understanding of what disease is," he added. "Most of our understanding right now is empirical. Understanding the mechanisms will provide all types of possibilities for therapies."
Genetic mapping also allows for the possibility of individualized health care.
A number of effective drugs have serious side effects for a small percentage of the population and are consequently pulled off the market.
With genetic testing that can be developed as a result of the sequencing, "we will be able to screen people and find the subset who will have an adverse reaction so that we may allow others to have the drug," said McClung.
The program is funded by several government agencies, including the National Institute of Health (NIH).
The NIH grant has also been used to develop a model college course on the implications of the Genome Project. Over 120 Dartmouth sophomores have taken the offering during the two summers it was taught at the College.
