SciDev.Net

The International HapMap Project is the biggest thing in genomics since the effort to sequence the entire human genome, which was completed in April this year.

A three-year US$100-million initiative, it aims to identify genetic factors associated with common ailments such as heart disease and asthma by studying DNA samples from three distinct populations from Africa, Asia and Europe.

In this article, Carina Dennis explores some of the ethical and technical challenges raised by the project. 

Link to full article in Nature  

Reference: Nature 425, 758 (2003)