Scientists finish sequencing a complete human genome

A digital representation of the human genome.
(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

For the first time, scientists have sequenced a complete human genome, a landmark feat that will help researchers better understand how DNA is different from person to person and the role genetics play in disease.

The research was published Thursday in the journal Science. In 2003, the Human Genome Project announced it had sequenced 92 percent of the human genome, and over the last two decades, a team of nearly 100 scientists has worked to fully reveal the remaining 8 percent.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.