A Map We Cannot Read

A Map We Can’t Read

Newspapers around the world report on the advancement of scientific data on the human body and our efforts to unlock its secrets through the Human Genome Project (HGP). We are captivated by the amazing daily discoveries which promise better living through science, but we often fail to see complications created by those discoveries.

The Human Genome Project aims to decipher our genetic code, but what will come from such discoveries?

Imagine yourself a star athlete who has a gene which is known to cause Parkinson’s disease. Would you still get drafted by the NBA, any team knowing that you would have a limited career, even though you have no idea if the disease will manifest itself?

Will we one day be able to genetically modify our children? Through gene therapy we already can.

Successful drugs have already been manufactured to battle certain cancers and illnesses, all based on the discoveries of the HGP. The information gained through the HGP will change our lives, but could this information lead to discrimination, or an even more dreadful thought of using genetic code as a weapon to target certain populations? How can we prepare to handle this knowledge in a responsible fashion? Inform yourself!