Mapping the human genome.

摘要

The following pages aim to lay a foundation for understanding the excitement surrounding the ''human genome project,'' as well as to convey a flavor of the ongoing efforts and plans at the Human Genome Center at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Our own work, of course, is only part of a broad international effort that will dramatically enhance our understanding of human molecular genetics before the end of this century. In this country, the bulk of the effort will be carried out under the auspices of the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health, but significant contributions have already been made both by nonprofit private foundations and by private corporation. The respective roles of the DOE and the NIH are being coordinated by an inter-agency committee, the aims of which are to emphasize the strengths of each agency, to facilitate cooperation, and to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort. The NIH, for example, will continue its crucial work in medical genetics and in mapping the genomes of nonhuman species. The DOE, on the other hand, has unique experience in managing large projects, and its national laboratories are repositories of expertise in physics, engineering, and computer science, as well as the life sciences. The tools and techniques the project will ultimately rely on are thus likely to be developed in multidisciplinary efforts at laboratories like LBL. Accordingly, we at LBL take great pride in this enterprise -- an enterprise that will eventually transform our understanding of ourselves.