Final answer:
The Human Microbiome Project, launched by the NIH in 2008, aims to map the gene sequences of microbes in humans and explore their link to health and disease. It has established a reference database and uses metagenomic analysis to include unculturable microbes. The project also seeks to understand the microbiota's role in different diseases.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Human Microbiome Project was initiated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2008 with the aim of enhancing our understanding of the human microbiome. Its primary goals include creating a comprehensive repository of gene sequences of microbes found in humans and analyzing the relationship between our microbiota and various diseases. This project facilitates a deeper insight into how the microbiota influences health and disease conditions and forms an essential database for further biomedical research.
More specifically, the project entails surveying the microbial inhabitants of human skin and other parts of the body such as the gut and mouth, then investigating the properties of these bacterial communities. An unexpected finding of the project was the presence of pathogenic species in the microbiota of healthy individuals. This discovery generates questions about why these organisms are harmless in some individuals but cause diseases in others. Additionally, through the use of metagenomic analysis, researchers are able to study the genetic material of all microbes within the microbiome, not just those that can be cultured, which represents only a small fraction of the entirety.
Another significant goal is to characterize the human microbiota in patients with different diseases to identify potential relationships between an individual's microbiota and their disease risk. The overarching objective is to establish a foundational understanding that can guide future research and medical treatments.