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Exercise 2: Audio transcript

Matt: Hi everybody, and welcome to today’s episode of ‘Tell Us Something Interesting.’ Today,
in the studio I have with me Ms. Alice Salve, a biologist who worked on the Human Genome
Project, the international scientific project with the principal aim of determining the base pairs of
human DNA. We are happy to have you here with us, Alice. How are you doing today?
Alice: Hi Matt. I’m fine, thank you. I am so glad to be here and to have this opportunity to talk
more about the Human Genome Project which even after so many years remains the world’s
largest collaborative scientific project, specifically in the field of biology.
M: Amazing! Could you tell us a bit more about the project? When did it start and how long did
its completion take?
A: Planning for the project began when the US government took up the idea in 1984; the
project then officially commenced in 1990 and 13 years later, it was completed on April 14,
2003.
M: Wow. 13 years to be completed, that’s quite a long time. What makes the Human Genome
Project so important, Alice?
A: Well to begin with, it’s noteworthy to mention that this is the biggest project of its kind with a
journey inward rather than outward. What I mean is that instead of exploring the planets or the
moon or the cosmos, the Human Genome Project wanted to explore the human cosmos. Being
part of such an international and diverse team was exhilarating, yet what was even more
rewarding was our aim – to identify, sequence and map all the human genes i.e., the genome.
This was the first time we got to understand the genetic blueprint of a human being – can you
imagine what a feat that is?
M: Can you tell us a bit more about the process?
A: So, in order for the project to meet its goal, there were three main things that we wanted to
do. To begin with, we wanted to determine the order or sequence of the genes; then, we wanted
to make maps that display the locations of genes for the major segments of all our
chromosomes; and finally, we wanted to produce what we call linkage maps.
M: What is the purpose behind linkage maps?
A: Linkage maps allow us to track inherited traits over generations; in other words, we could, for
example, be able to track the traits for genetic disease.
M: To be honest, I am surprised that it took so long for such a project to materialise. What can
you tell us about genes? How many are there?
A: What we discovered through our work is that there are approximately 20,500 human genes.
We know not only the number, but also their structure, organisation and function.
M: What is the impact of this project? How does it benefit humanity?
A: Frankly, the project offers diverse advantages for many fields, from molecular medicine to
human evolution. Mainly, the Human Genome Project allows us to understand diseases; for
example, we can identify mutations that are connected to different forms of cancer. It allows us
to understand medication design and to consequently predict more accurately the effects of
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medication. The impact of the project is far-reaching and even involves improvements in
forensic applied sciences in addition to its application in energy, agriculture, anthropology and
evolution. These are some of the numerous fields for which this project holds benefit.
M: Is this information available to anyone who wants to access it?
A: Surprisingly, yes! The sequence of DNA is stored in databases and they are accessible to
anyone on the Internet.
M: It is amazing how this collaborative work that took 13 years to be completed is available on
the Internet. How does the project continue to remain relevant?
A: Well, one of the things is that it continues to provide a clear picture characterising the entire
genomes of other organisms, especially those used consistently in biological research such as
mice and fruit flies. This is because most organisms have similar genes with similar functions,
and so when we identify a specific gene sequence or function of a gene in a certain organism, it
provides us with an opportunity to explain a similar gene in human beings.
M: It is certainly such an impactful project, maybe one of the greatest scientific undertakings of
all time. My last question to you, Alice, is about the legal and ethical implications of this project.
Most scientific innovations raise some ethical concerns. What about the Human Genome
Project?
A: That’s a great question, Matt. Well, at the beginning of the project, many ethical, legal and
social concerns were raised concerning how this knowledge of the human genome could
actually lead to discrimination against people. For example, employers could refuse to hire
people because of a health concern that their genes would clearly indicate. This is why
protecting ourselves from the non-consensual release of health information is significant.
Moreover, the Human Genome Project allocated five per cent of its annual budget to the ELSI
programme which was founded in 1990 to address the ethical, legal and social implications of
the project.
M: That sounds like an excellent initiative Alice, you must feel so proud to have been part of
such a fascinating project that offers so much to humanity. I am so happy to have welcomed
you today and to have had the chance to talk to you.
A: Thank you for having me, Matt, and please do check out the genome online!

M: I sure will!

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