Celera, in its race with the Human Genome Project to sequence the human genome, relied on only one individual sequenced three times. Science is full of imbedded cultural assumptions. As long as there is no competition, the real purposes of mega efforts often become clear. Remember from your geometry, it takes two points to make a line. This competition has allowed us, on the outside, to see more clearly which direction molecular genetics is headed.
Institutions often misrepresent themselves when under scrutiny.
This is why we need to be engaged as a people in the Human Genome Project and any other project that demands so many resources from all of us. Our engagement can help keep everybody honest and our presence at the table can keep our issues on the research and policy agenda. Finally, we should realize that even highly touted mega projects like the Human Genome Project can make omissions and can shift directions. For years, Dr. Dunston has lobbied our colleagues in both the Human Genome Diversity Project and the Human Genome Project to include African American sequences in their baseline databases. These efforts were not successful at this level, but they did secure the investment, at Howard University, of a National Genome Center that promises to make our issues and our concerns a priority.