While 92% of the human genome was sequenced in 2003, scientists have struggled to map the remaining 8%. Until now.
“When the Human Genome Project was declared completed in 2003, it had mapped 92% of genes, with the rest remaining a mystery for nearly two decades due to technological limitations. Now, scientists have finished sequencing the other 8%, and the human genome has finally been fully sequenced.
Almost 100 scientists from the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium collaborated on the project to map the entire human genome. The additional 8% that was sequenced (https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/947629) accounts for 400 million new letters added to the existing sequenced DNA — enough for an entire chromosome, as CNN reported.
The additional genes are very important for adaptation, according to Evan Eichler, one of the major contributors to the main paper … They include immune response genes enabling humans to adapt to and survive infections, plagues, and viruses …”
👉 Read more: CNET