Mapping our genes

By United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment

Subjects: Chromosome Mapping, Biotechnology, Genetics, DNA, Genes

Description: Addresses all of the issues relevant to mapping the human genome ... [It] identifies appropriate considerations and a variety of policy options for developing a coherent and comprehensive organizational schema for a national plan for genome mapping. The report thus provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of this major complex, controversial, and extremely exciting undertaking.-- Journal of the American Medical Association. The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was created to aid the US Congress in recommending legislative policy for technological applications that have scientific, economic, political, and social consequences. This report on genome projects by the OTA is divided into several sections: technologies for mapping DNA; applications to research in biology and medicine; social and ethical considerations, agencies and organizations within the US; international efforts; organization of genome projects; and technology transfer and copyright policies. This report focuses on the type of legislative policy Congress should adopt to assess the rationale for research and funding of human genome projects as well as the coordination of these projects in the private sector and at the federal and international levels. Each chapter begins with a table of contents followed by a detailed discussion supplemented with various figures, tables, and charts. Readers will appreciate the summary section and the chapter references. Especially informative are the appendixes that deal with such topics as databases, repositories, and the estimated costs of human genome projects. Recommended for collections serving undergraduates and general readers.-H.S. Pitkow, Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine.