Human Genome Project

Introduction
Timeline of the HGP
Science behind the HGP
Advances based on the HGP
Impacts of the HGP
- Impact on medicine
- Impact on law and the social sciences

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

The impact of the Human Genome Project on cancer research

Diagram of a DNA double helix showing its twisted ladder structure, with a close-up of the sugar-phosphate backbone, paired nitrogenous bases (adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine), and labeled nucleotides and hydrogen bonds.

How DNA's double helix structure was discovered

Gregor Mendel's discovery of heredity laws

Diagram illustrating the process of protein synthesis: DNA unzips in the nucleus, messenger RNA (mRNA) forms on the DNA strands, and then mRNA moves to a ribosome where transfer RNA (tRNA) helps assemble amino acids into a protein chain.

At a Glance

Human Genome Project summary

Quizzes

Illustrated strands of DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid, biology.

Genetics Quiz

Related Questions

How can family history and genetic testing help detect hereditary cancers early?
How can genetic testing identify disease risk before symptoms appear?
How common are single nucleotide polymorphisms in the human genome?
How did automated sequencing machines help the Human Genome Project?
How did fluorescence-based sequencing improve on radioactive methods?
How did hierarchical shotgun sequencing work in the Human Genome Project?
How did studies of model-organism genomes help scientists study human genes?
How did the 1000 Genomes Project build on the International HapMap Project?
How did the Human Genome Project contribute to personalized medicine?
How did the Human Genome Project make genome data available to scientists?
How did the discovery of DNA’s double-helix structure relate to the Human Genome Project timeline?
How did whole-genome shotgun sequencing differ from hierarchical shotgun sequencing?
How do haplotypes help scientists find genetic variants linked to disease?
How does imatinib treat chronic myelogenous leukemia in some patients?
How many DNA base pairs did the Human Genome Project sequence?
How many human genes were identified through research on the human genome?
How were short DNA fragments assembled into a complete genome sequence?
What is the connection between the Philadelphia chromosome and chronic myelogenous leukemia?
What is the difference between de novo sequencing and re-sequencing?
What privacy concerns can arise when genomic information is stored in electronic health records?
What role did Francis Collins play in the Human Genome Project?
What was ENCODE designed to study after the Human Genome Project ended?
What was the purpose of the International HapMap Project?
What were the main goals of the Human Genome Project?
When did the Human Genome Project begin and end?
Which four chemical bases make up human DNA?
Which populations were included in the first phases of the International HapMap Project?
Why can people respond differently to the same medication?
Why did Human Genome Project scientists sequence yeast, fruit flies, and nematodes?
Why did scientists launch the Human Genome Project in 1990?
Why did whole-genome sequencing require powerful computers and bioinformatics?
Why do repeated DNA sequences make genome assembly difficult?
Why was the Human Genome Project controversial when it began?
Why was the Human Genome Project declared complete in April 2003?
Why were physical maps useful for sequencing the human genome?
What is Jacques Cousteau known for?
What was Jacques Cousteau’s early life like?
What was Alfred Russel Wallace’s early life like?
How was Alfred Russel Wallace influential?
What was Alfred Russel Wallace’s legacy?
What did J. Robert Oppenheimer do in the Manhattan Project?
What led to the Manhattan Project?
Who were the most important scientists associated with the Manhattan Project?
What did the Manhattan Project do?
What were the immediate and long-term results of the Manhattan Project?

Health & Medicine Genetics & Evolution

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External Websites

National Human Genome Research Institute - The Human Genome Project
New England Journal of Medicine - Medical and Societal Consequences of the Human Genome Project
National Human Genome Research Institute - Human Genome Project
The Embryo Project Encyclopedia - The Human Genome Project (1990-2003)
Australian Academy of Science - The Human Genome ProjectÂ—discovering the human blueprint
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - The Human Genome Project
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - The Human Genome Project

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Human Genome Project - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Human Genome Project - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Human Genome Project

scientific project

Also known as: HGP

Written by

Judith L. Fridovich-Keil

Professor, Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. She has contributed to Brenner's Online Encyclopedia of Genetics and is the coauthor of numerous research...

Judith L. Fridovich-Keil

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 16, 2026 •History

Human Genome Project (HGP), an international collaboration that successfully determined, stored, and rendered publicly available the sequences of almost all the genetic content of the chromosomes of the human organism, otherwise known as the human genome. The Human Genome Project (HGP), which operated from 1990 to 2003, provided researchers with basic information about the sequences of the three billion chemical base pairs (i.e., adenine [A], thymine [T], guanine [G], and cytosine [C]) that make up...

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