The Human Genome Project was an international biological project that was created to determine the sequence of the human DNA, and locating and mapping the entire genes of the human genome in terms of structure and function. The Human Genome Project allows researchers to discover disease causing genes and possibly prevent or treat them. In 2001, the Human Genome Project researchers discovered a new tumor suppressor gene on human chromosome 7 which is involved in prostate and breast cancer. Also in 2000, researchers in Japan and Germany discovered the genetic code of human chromosome 21 and was identified to be involved with diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.
