The human genome is eventually full. Researchers have been working for many years towards this aim, and the Human Genome Challenge claimed victory in 2001, when it had learn nearly all of an individual’s DNA. However the cussed remaining 8 p.c of the genome took one other 20 years to decipher. These remaining sections have been extremely repetitive and extremely variable amongst people, making them the toughest components to sequence. But they revealed a whole lot of recent genes, together with genes concerned in immune responses and people answerable for people growing bigger brains than our primate ancestors. “Now that we have now one full reference, we are able to perceive human variation and the way we modified with respect to our closest associated species on the planet,” says geneticist Evan Eichler of the College of Washington, one of many co-chairs of the Telomere-to-Telomere consortium that completed the genome.

Series of charts shows how much of the human genome was sequenced over time since 2000, ending in completion in 2022.
Credit score: Martin Krzywinski; Sources: UCSC Genome Browser; “The Full Sequence of a Human Genome,” by Sergey Nurk et al., in Science, Vol. 376; April 2022



Editor’s Word (7/22/22): The graphic on this article was edited after posting to right the variety of bases in a completely gapless genomic sequence in 2022.