The Human Genome Project – discovering the human blueprint
Futher Reading
September 2003, pages 38-40
The common thread (by Stephen Luntz)
An interview with Sir John Sulston about how close society came to losing control of ownership of our genes.
August 2003, pages 20-22
The legal helix (by Matthew Rimmer)
Explains the legal issues over access to sequence data that are unravelling public research.
24 August 2011
Secret to the kangaroo's bounce revealed (by Emma Brennand)
Reports on the discovery of the gene that scientists believe is responsible for giving kangaroos their jump.
21 July 2011
New DNA sequencing cheap as chips (by Claire MacDonald)
Discusses advances in technology that dramatically lower the cost of genome sequencing.
8 February 2011
Gene genie out of the bottle (by Elizabeth Finkel)
Provides an overview of the discoveries made since the advent of the Human Genome Project.
4 February 2011
Human genome's 10th birthday (by Becky Crew)
A brief piece that marks 10 years since release of the first draft of the human genome sequence. Includes links to other articles.
February-March 2010, pages 62-69
The trouble with genes (by Elizabeth Finkel)
Discusses the role of ‘junk’ or non-coding DNA.
December 2009
Genome of a killer (by Véronique Morin)
Describes work to sequence the genome of cancer.
18 November 2008
Draft kangaroo genome sequenced (by Octavia Cade)
Reports on work conducted by Australian scientists to produce a map of the kangaroo genome.
10 May 2007
Opossum is first marsupial genome sequenced (by Liz Williams)
Describes the sequencing of a marsupial from South America and how this has prodived insights into the role of "junk" DNA.
A collection of Nature articles on human genomics is available.
31 March 2010, pages 649-680
The human genome at 10
A special report which provides articles on the status of the human genome project 10 years after the first draft was completed.
A collection of articles on genetics and genes is available.
6 December 2006
Genomic atlas of the mouse brain revealed (by Peter Aldhous)
Reports on a genomic atlas of the mouse brain.
22 November 2006
Human DNA is far more varied than thought (by Debora MacKenzie)
Research suggests that humans may differ due to differences in the number of copies of genes.
15 November 2006
Neanderthals have genome chunk sequenced (by Dan Jones)
Announces the sequencing of over a million base pairs of fossilised Neanderthal DNA.
11 October 2006
Neanderthal DNA illuminates split with humans (by Roxanne Khamsi)
Sequencing of Neanderthal DNA suggests that humans and Neanderthals are distant relatives.
15 April 2006, page 32
Genome-in-a-day promised as DNA is put through hoops (by Andy Coghlan)
Describes future rapid DNA sequence analysis using magnetic codes.
7 March 2006
Many human genes evolved recently (by Melissa Lee Phillips)
Suggests that human genes involved in metabolism, skin pigmentation, brain function and reproduction evolved in response to recent environmental changes.
13 April 2005
Gene project will map humans’ global spread (by Michael Le Page and Will Knight)
Describes a project to map the migration of humans across the globe using genetic information.
April 2005
DNA: life's memory
The hundreds of millions of chemical letters in a genome sequence hold the memory of the evolution that led to a species' appearance. The skill lies in deciphering them.
1 July 2005, page 80
Why do humans have so few genes? (by Elizabeth Pennisi)
Explains how humans function with fewer genes than expected.
18 October 2010
Revolution Postponed: Why the Human Genome Project Has Been Disappointing (by Stephen S. Hall)
Reports on how and why the Human Genome Project has failed to deliver upon promises of medical miracles.
March 31 2010
Blogs: Where’s my genome sequence? Almost 10 years after the human genome was drafted, many genomics goals remain unrealized (by Katherine Harmon)
Another discussion of how the Human Genome Project has fallen somewhat short of expectations.
August 2008, pages 40-45
Keeping your genes private (by Mark A. Rothstein)
Claims that tougher laws are needed to prevent discrimination on the basis of genetic information.
Page updated May 2010.