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Article: Genetic advances, ethical risks. (genetic engineering) (column)
- Article from:
- U.S. News & World Report
- Article date:
- September 25, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 All rights reserved. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Probably only I American in 10 knows the meaning of "human ge-
nome" the complete set of instructions for making a
human being). The current publicity buildup for the Human Genome Project-the long-term effort to map and sequence all human genes-should close this little information gap rather quickly. This is because any project likely to cost the taxpayers $3 billion or so in a tight-budget era is going to need solid public support.
Last week's burst of newspaper articles included an unusually good one by Sandra Blakeslee of the New York Times on the search for the defective gene that causes cystic fibrosis. Looking for the gene among 3 billion base ...