The human genome project: opportunities, challenges and consequences for population screening.

It is widely agreed that the Human Genome Project represents one of the most successful international collaborative research efforts of the last millennium. The fruits of the Human Genome Project have paved the way for a revolution in future health care, built on the foundations of an improved understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of human disease, and new and emerging technologies that will allow the rapid throughput of sophisticated gene-based testing. In this review some practical examples of these advances will be outlined, touching on such areas as pharmacogenetics, pharmacogenomics, and microarray technologies. In addition, some of the legal, ethical and social issues that have arisen from the Human Genome Project will be discussed. It is argued that in embracing the new knowledge afforded by the Human Genome Project, we must maintain a cautious approach to help minimise the potential risks in order to reap the potentially enormous benefits to society.