The tenth anniversary of the completion of the first draft of the human genome is approaching, apparently putting a lot of scientists in the mood for reflection on the past and speculation about the future of genetics.
The journal Nature has a series of opinion articles and two news articles on the subject. All are available online free of charge. There are also other human genome related materials available at The Human Genome at Ten.
Researchers working at an NHGRI-supported large-scale sequencing center./The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard/NHGRI multimedia gallery
- Has the revolution arrived? — Francis Collins
- Multiple personal genomes await — J. Craig Venter
- Point: Hypotheses First – Robert Weinberg
- Counterpoint: Data first – Todd Golub
- Life is complicated — Erika Check Hayden
- The human race — Alison Abbott
The British Medical Journal features a debate between two scientists over whether modern genetics is “blind alley.” These articles are also available free of charge.
- Is modern genetics a blind alley? Yes — James Le Fanu
- Is modern genetics a blind alley? No — D J Weatherall
It’s not just the anniversary of the draft sequence that looms. DNA Day, which was created in 2003 by a congressional resolution to celebrate the completion of the Human Genome Project and the 50th anniversary of the description of the double-helix structure of DNA by James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick, is coming up on April 25th. To accommodate classroom schedules, many events will be taking place on Friday, April 23rd.
We’ll be rounding up a listing of DNA Day activities in the coming week or so, but you can start your preparations by checking our listing of fun DNA activities.
