Full human genome mapped for 1st time in major scientific breakthrough
Global News
This full, no-gaps snapshot of the human genome consists of at least 3 billion base pairs of DNA and just under 20,000 protein-encoding genes.
When the Human Genome Project sequenced 92 per cent of the human genome in 2003, it revolutionized our understanding of genetics and its role in human health, evolution and biology. Nearly two decades later, scientists have finished the job, lifting the veil off of the remaining eight per cent of our species’ genome.
The research was published Thursday in the journal Science and was the result of collaboration between nearly 100 scientists from the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium. These new insights contributed 400 million letters of previously unsequenced DNA, paving the way for medical breakthroughs and an even deeper understanding of how our species evolved.
The T2T Consortium was organized in 2019 by Karen Miga, an assistant professor of biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz, and Adam Phillippy, the head of gene informatics at the National Human Genome Research Institute. The team published six papers in total, outlining the results of their research.
The full, no-gaps human genome that the consortium compiled, called T2T-CHM13, consists of more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA and just under 20,000 protein-encoding genes.
But what does this mean for the average person?
Having the full genome at the disposal of scientists and researchers will allow the medical community to analyze genetic variation in individual people compared to the base genome, and investigate how those variations may play a role in disease.
The Human Genome Project cost $450 million to execute, this recent research cost a few million, and Phillippy said he hopes that sequencing an individual’s genome can become a routine medical procedure costing less than $1,000 within the next 10 years.
The scientific director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, Charles Rotimi, said that these advancements in mapping the genome are “moving us closer to individualized medicine for all humanity.”
The CFIA has recalled E. coli-tainted carrots, following a U.S. health warning about the contaminated produce linked to one death and dozens of illnesses.
Health Canada said there was an issue with the braking system of the Stokke YOYO baby stroller, sold between August and October this year.
These editorial stories and interviews will focus on the people, companies, research, and innovations leading the environmental and sustainable movement in B.C.
Bennett had just returned from the school run last week when she found the mom and a baby raccoon unconscious, with one of the babies sleeping on the furniture.
B.C. health authorities have announced the first case of a human avian flu infection acquired in Canada, with the teenage patient in critical condition in hospital.
People have been hearing a lot about H5N1 bird flu — or highly pathogenic avian influenza — since a B.C. teen became the first human to get the virus in Canada and is in hospital.
The Liberal government and the NDP negotiated the substance of a pharmacare bill as part of their now-defunct supply-and-confidence agreement.
Kennedy ran as an independent presidential candidate but gave Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the next Trump administration.
Emergency services are at the scene of a train derailment Thursday morning on Montreal's south shore, where they are urging citizens to stay away from the area.
"I was yelling at them saying get the F** away it’s a wild animal," resident Josh Merrin told Global News. "Sorry about my language."
H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.