Gene mapping project offers new clues about humans

This week I read a very interesting article entitled Gene mapping project offers new clues about humanswritten by Julie Steenhuysen. In this article the researchers are trying create a map of genetic varients in humans. They believe that this information will allow us to better understand the genetic basis' of human diseases for both common and rare diseases. Dr. Evan Eichler of the University of Washington is in the process of mapping out 2,500 people's genomes from around the world. Although it is difficult to compare these genomes, it will hopefully give us an idea of why certain people have certain diseases. I think this research is very important because if we can identify the genes that lead to certain diseases then it would be possible to treat the person earlier giving them a higher rate of recovery. I think it would be interesting to follow up on this research and see where it leads us in the future.