"Bill Clinton in 2000 describing the Human Genome Project and the mapping of human DNA, successfully completed three years later, said ""Today we are learning the language in which God created life. It will revolutionize the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of most, if not all, human diseases.” But while we have identified some diseases that have direct genetic markers, we have not found genes responsible for the great majority of common conditions. Nor have we found widespread genetic cures. Moreover, the initial research was focused not only on those of European descent but largely from a single American individual, making its predictions even less effective and in some instances dangerous and life-threatening.
Have we to abandon the idea that genes are a blueprint for life and disease? Is the reality that many other factors are responsible for our health and abilities? As we get an increasing understanding of the complexity of the elements involved, will we be able to deliver on the initial promise and claims to end disease or is the dream in fact a mirage?"
