Gene therapy and medical genetics on Internet.

ABSTRACT

In this report we consider the development of the Internet, from its origins as a military invention in the times of the cold war to its present day role, together with the World Wide Web, as a means of global communication which plays a key role in medical research and particularly in medical genetics. A few of the major genetics related research projects and gene research centers are introduced and their aims are briefly discussed. Detailed information about chromosome and gene mapping, together with sequence and structure databases, can be easily and rapidly accessed through the Internet. A variety of web-sites are briefly described and then listed at the end of the report, which will serve as a useful starting point from which the interested reader can access an almost endless source of genetics related information on the Internet. Finally, some of the ethical, legal and social implications of the links between gene therapy and the Intemet are considered.