1. Have you heard about human genome project before?
No - 8 votes (12%)
2.
Do you think Human Genome Project is beneficial to mankind?
Yes - 26 votes (43%)
No - 7 votes (12%)
Maybe - 22 votes (37%)
Don't know - 5 votes (8%)
Total votes - 60
3. Do you think the information gathered from Human Genome Project maybe
abused by certain parties?
Yes - 27 votes (47%)
No - 12 votes (21%)
To
some extent - 18 votes (32%)
Total votes - 57
4.
Do you think the benefits of Human Genome Project outweighs the ethical,
legal and social concerns?
Yes - 29 votes (50%)
No - 9 votes (16%)
Maybe - 18 votes (31%)
Don't know - 2 votes (3%)
Total votes - 58
The Human Genome Project is one of the greatest undertakings in science with the aims of mapping human genes with potential uses in medicine and biotechnology. This month, readers were gauged on their knowledge of the subject, and of 65 polled, 57 heard of the project while 8 were clueless of its nature.
Out of 60 queried, 43% believe that its influences would be beneficial to mankind, while 37% responded maybe. Conversely, 12% believed otherwise, while 8% did not express any preference.
On whether there may be potential of abuse from the information gathered, 47% respondents agreed with the statement, while 21% believed there would be no potential of abuse. This is offset by 32% out of the 57 respondents who believed that the potential of abuse would be present to an extent.
In general, weighing the benefits of the Human Genome Project against the ethical, legal and social concerns, 29 readers polled believed that such benefits outweigh any concern, while 18 responded that it may be possible. Consequently, 9 readers believed that the benefits of the project may not outweigh the concerns they pose.
