In 2003, the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) “Human Genome Project” (HGP) announced that it had completed its research involving the mapping of the entirety of the human genome. It revealed that there are over 20,000 individual genes in the human body, providing scientists and others with detailed information about the structure, organization and function of the human genome, along with a basic set of genetic patterns for the development and function of a human being.