Since the Human Genome Project (HGP) was launched five years ago, human geneticists working to decipher the code of nucleotides in the DNA of human cells have enthralled the public with discoveries of numerous genes that are responsible for human diseases, such as cancer-related genes. Different groups of scientists in laboratories all over the world are participating in this project, taking apart the human genome right down to the constituent DNA nucleotides. The ultimate goal of the HGP is to determine the exact order, or DNA sequence, of the nucleotide bases that make up all 23 pairs of human chromosomes, some 3 billion bases in all.
As high-profile as the project may be, HGP researchers aren't the only molecular geneticists who are attracting fame and glory. In July, a research team headed by Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith of Johns Hopkins University and Craig Venter of The Institute for Genomic Research ...
