genetic code is distinguished by the order of these chemical bases. The entire human genome has about three billion base pairs. There are about 50-100 thousand genes found on the 23 pairs of chromosomes. There are two types of ways to map genes. Linkage mapping, or genetic mapping, is a method that shows the order of genes on a chromosome. It was developed by Thomas Hunt Morgan in the early 1900’s. This American biologist and geneticist observed how characteristics were inherited in a common fruit fly, and he created a map that showed the order of genes in chromosomes. In 1933, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in Physiology. Physical Mapping, on the other hand, maps the distance between landmarks on the chromosome. This work is done by using a combination of robotics, lasers, and computers to map the genes. It was developed by Frederick Sanger, a British biochemist. By cracking the human genome code, many tests are available for finding diseases in people. Gene testing is when the DNA is examined directly, and is used in carrier screening, prenatal diagnostic testing, newborn screening, presymptomatic testing, and confirmational diagnosis of diseases. The major diseases that are able to be detected by gene testing are Alzheimer’s disease, Cancers, Cystic Fibrosis, Dystonia, Hemophilia, Huntington’s Disease, Myotonic Dystrophy, Sickle Cell Diseases, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and many others. These tests can cost from hundreds to thousands of dollars. There have been many societal and moral concerns that have arisen from the genome project and gene testing. The main concerns of people are the fairness of using genetic information by other people, the privacy of genetic information, the psychological impact on a person due to genetic diversity, uncertainties of gene testing, and most of all the moral and religious controversy of beliefs. Some believe that altering people’s genes and being able to choose characteristic...
