Since the structure of DNA was first discovered by Watson and Crick in 1953,scientists have asked themselves what the human genome (DNA sequence – order ofgenes) really is. The technique to sequence DNA was only developed in 1980s byFred Sanger and was called ‘Sanger sequencing’ or the ‘dideoxy method’. TheHuman Genome Project started soon after and was eventually finished on February15th 2001.        The Human Genome Project used anonymous DNA from human donors andvolunteers from diverse backgrounds, so no one knows whose DNA was actuallysequenced. The primary aim of the Human Genome Project was to determine theexact sequence of the human DNA to “see” what is unique about humans that makesus so different from other forms of life.       The human genome was determined to consist of around 20,500 genes which areactually very few relative to other organisms. For example, a small worm can haveabout the same amount of genes as a human which doesn’t make much sense, sinceit is obvious that humans are more complex organisms.     The answer is because the size of genomes is not really indicative of the numberof true genes. This is because many genes have turned out to be pseudo genes -defective copies of true genes. In truth more information about our genes isdiscovered every day, but it will still be years before we can fully discover the reasonfor our complexity.
【題組】46. What is the main purpose of this article?
(A) To warn people about the dangers of genetic modification.
(B) To educate people about the dangers of pseudo genes.
(C) To examine the Human Genome Project.
(D) To talk about Fred Sanger.