Re: Why dont we have a Manhatten Project for Genomics.

Actually, there is a "Manhatten Project" of sorts for genomics. The Human Genome Project is an international consortium of mostly academic institutions that are working on sequencing and analyzing the human genome. There are also other similar organizations and networks focusing on other genomes like rice, mouse, etc. In addition to government-funded organization, commerical companies like Celera are also working on sequencing and analyzing the human genome.

The Human Genome Project can be compared to the Manhatten Project in terms of scope and significance, but you must remember that Manhatten Project had limits in that it was secret. There was no international collaboration and really no possibility for contributions from people outside the loop. The Human Genome Project encourages international participation especially in the use of the data obtained. Anyone with an internet connection can access current genomic information at the NCBI web site -- the government depository. What is done with the information afterwards depends on the interest and knowledge of the person who accesses the data. There is still competition and "secrecy" especially if groups are working towards the same goal eg., trying to find a specific gene -- the publish or perish problem. However, once the data is published, it is available to everyone. Also, there is more than one goal. In the Manhatten Project the overall goal was to build the atom bomb. In the field of genomics, there are many different projects that need answers: finding specific disease genes, how are genomes put together, what controls gene expression, is junk DNA really junk, how do genomes/gene evolve change over time and across species, etc. I hope this answers your question.