The Genome Is Mapped. Now What?
It will be decades before scientists identify and understand all of our genes. But that hasn't stopped them from making dramatic discoveries
By Michael D. Lemonick Monday, July 03, 2000
It was supposed to be like putting a man on the moon. Sequencing the entire human genome--spelling out the 3.1 billion chemical "letters" that make up human DNA--would be, scientists said, as challenging and rewarding as the Apollo mission that deposited Neil Armstrong on the lunar surface. But the comparison was never exact, and as the genome project approaches completion, it is becoming increasingly clear just how bad the analogy really is. Landing a human on our nearest cosmic neighbor was a straightforward achievement with no need for caveats or footnotes. As of July 20, 1969, nobody had set foot on...