There is growing enthusiasm in the scientific community about the prospect of mapping and sequencing the human genome, a monumental project that will have far-reaching consequences for medicine, biology, technology, and other fields. But how will such an effort be organized and funded? How will we develop the new technologies that are needed? What new legal, social, and ethical questions will be raised? Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome is a blueprint for this proposed project. The authors offer a highly readable explanation of the technical aspects of genetic mapping and sequencing, and they recommend specific interim and long-range research goals, organizational strategies, and funding levels. They also outline some of the legal and social questions that might arise and urge their early consideration by policymakers.

One of the holy grails in biology is the ability to predict functional characteristics from an organism's genetic sequence. Despite decades of research since the first sequencing of an organism in 1995, scientists still do not understand exactly how the information in genes is converted into an organism's phenotype, its physical characteristics. Functional genomics attempts to make use of the vast wealth of data from "-omics" screens and projects to describe gene and protein functions and interactions. A February 2020 workshop was held to determine research needs to advance the field of functional genomics over the next 10-20 years. Speakers and participants discussed goals, strategies, and technical needs to allow functional genomics to contribute to the advancement of basic knowledge and its applications that would benefit society. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

The rationale for co-ordinated activities related to human genome analysis is based on its potential contribution to the understanding of the processes underlying human disease, hence to improve diagnostics, treatment and eventually disease prevention. The basic idea on how best to meet this objective at a European level was through the collective improvement of research infrastructure, broader availability of resources and co-operation of leading research groups in Europe. The emphasis of the European programmes was placed on the provision of an adequate research infrastructure, including resource centres, to the improvement in the mapping facilities and information management. In this context, a paradigm of successful international collaboration was the European Human Genetic Linkage Mapping Project (EUROGEM), and the Single Chromosome Workshops (SCWs), monitored by the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO). This book contains the final reports of all 41 research projects funded under the BIOMED 1 programme during the period 1993 to 1997.

Extraordinary advances have been made in the field of human molecular genetics during the past five years. The ability to amplify a specific region ofDNA a millionfold in a few hours using the polymerase chain reaction has led to the rapid identification of mutations in human disease and of DNA sequence polymorphisms on every human chro- some. DNA fragments of up to 1 megabase in length can now be resolved by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to create long-range physical maps of important regions of the genome, and can be cloned in the form of yeast artificial chromosomes. The discovery of highly variable "minisatellite" DNA sequences has led to the development of DNA fingerprinting. The application of these techniques to the study of the human genome has culminated in major advances such as the cloning of the cystic fibrosis gene, the construction of genetic linkage maps of each human chro- some, the mapping of many genes responsible for human inherited d- orders, genetic fingerprinting of forensic specimens, and the detection of mutations involved in the development of human tumors. Although many of the new techniques in molecular genetics can be learned relatively easily, it is often difficult for a researcher to obtain all of the relevant information necessary for getting up a technique and applying it successfully. The information available in the research lite- ture often lacks the depth of description that the new user requires.

This book deals with the rapid changes in contemporary molecular biology, particularly genome sciences, and the manner in which they can be understood through the lens of political economy. Specifically, the work investigates the case of the United States-led Genome Project (HGP), in order to show that even large-scale basic science is closely bound up in the progression of capitalist social relations. The work has, in part, been motivated by the lack of rigorous analysis of the HGP. Most the existing literature tends to present either a chronological review of events surrounding the HGP or describe it thematically. In contrast, this book contributes to a needed discussion concerning the 'why and how' of the HGP emergence. It elucidates the features within capitalist social relations which have simultaneously enable the HGP and ensure its amenability to systemic demands. The work's most compelling elements are both historical and analytical. Historically, it places the HGP within the context of wider political, economic and social issues. Related to this, it puts forward an analytical, explanatory understanding of the project's emergence, making it a valuable tool for both political economists, science & society theorists, and even bioethicists.