Question

Why is the human genome project called a mega project? [3 marks]

Answer 1

• Human genome project was aimed to determine the complete base sequence of human DNA.[1 mark]
• Human genome project is called a mega project becaus
  • Its aim was to determine the nucleotide sequence of complete human genome which was a task of enormous magnitude.[0.5 marks]
  • A total of $3\times {10}^9$ base pairs were to be sequenced and the cost was about 9 billion US dollars.[0.5 marks]
  • It required bioinformatics data base techniques and other contemporary devices for the analysis, storage and retrieval of information.[0.5 marks]
  • Many countries worked jointly to complete this timed project.[0.5 marks]