|
|
Cracking the Code of Life
|
|
|
|
Program Overview
|
|
|
NOVA follows corporate and academic scientists as they race to
capture one of the biggest prizes in scientific history: the
complete, letter-by-letter sequence of genetic information that
defines human life—the human genome.
The program:
-
introduces Celera corporate scientist Craig Venter and MIT
Whitehead Institute academic scientist Eric Lander, who runs one
of the primary government-funded genome sequencing sites.
-
explains Venter's breakthrough that isolated genes from "junk"
DNA via high-speed computing and the use of short fragments of
DNA called "expressed sequence tags".
-
profiles the different research methods and styles of the
academic and corporate scientists.
-
reviews the debate and struggle over patenting genes.
-
speculates on legal and ethical questions relating to use of the
human genome.
-
explains the structure and function of DNA, what a gene is and
what it does, and how proteins—produced by genetic
instruction—actually govern the body's processes.
-
uses animation to depict how scientists "read" the genetic code
and determine where genes are located.
-
notes that almost every disease can trace its cause to some
genetic mutation.
-
provides examples of individuals and doctors who face health
decisions that rest on information the human genome contains.
-
summarizes that while mapping the human genome is one of the
most significant achievements of the century, when finished, the
project will really have just provided the infrastructure for
years of future work in detecting, treating, and possibly curing
human illnesses.
For additional background information see:
What Will the Future Bring?
PDF Version
|
HTML Version
|
|
