With much fanfare, the major players last week announced that they have completed a "rough draft" map of the human genome. This story has been covered extensively by the popular press, so we will not get into any details here.

However, some of the predictions for the future of genetic engineering are very interesting and many will find them disturbing. Experts predict that in the near future:

• The human race will be able to "direct" its own evolution by replacing selected genes

• All food crops will be genetically engineered

For thoses of you who are not that familiar, the following are some basics in regards to the human genome:

• Genes are basically a series of chemical bases along a DNA strand.

• Each individual gene determines the formation and function of a single protein, which in turn, is responsible for building structures and causing biochemical reactions.

• Genes, along with the environment, shape who and what we are.

• Individual humans have over 99.9% of their DNA in common with all others.

• Humans have approximately 99% of their DNA in common with chimpanzees and about 80% in common with mice

Although the mapping seems to be near completion, experts maintain that connecting specific genes to specific proteins could take most of the next century.