Scientists Release Final Human Genome
Sequence
posted 04/14/03
The International Human Genome Consortium
announced on 14 April that they have successfully sequenced the human genome
more than two years earlier than expected.
The UK based Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute made the largest single
contribution of any organisation to the final sequence, carrying out nearly one
third of the total work.
Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Professor Allan Bradley, said:
'Completing the human genome is a vital step on a long road, but the eventual
health benefits could be phenomenal. Just one part of this work - the sequencing
of chromosome 20 - has already accelerated the search for genes involved in
diabetes, leukaemia and childhood eczema.'
Scientists from more than 120 countries have already made use of the draft
sequence of the genome released in June 2000. The final 'gold standard'
sequence, which scientists claim has an accuracy rating of 99.999 per cent, is
expected to underpin biomedical research for decades to come.
When the human genome project was first announced, some believed that it would
take as many as 20 years to complete, but advances in robotics and
supercomputing have seen work finished in just under eight years since the plan
was first outlined in 1995.
Of the achievement, Professor Bradley said: 'We shouldn't expect immediate major
breakthroughs, but there is no doubt we have embarked on one of the most
exciting chapters of the book of life.'
Source: Cordis News.
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