Ascertaining the sequence of the human genome has long been the 'holy grail' of the genetics world. The Human Genome Project is an internationally co-ordinated scientific effort aimed at finding the grail through the mapping and sequencing of all the DNA in the human genome. The project has been compared to the program to send a man to the moon, but those involved have described the project's implications for humanity as being far greater than that first step onto the surface of the moon.