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posted by mrpg on Wednesday November 21 2018, @06:12AM   Printer-friendly
from the 36MB!?!?!?!?!? dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

Widely Used Reference for the Human Genome is Missing 300 Million Bits of DNA

Known as the GRCh38 reference genome, it is periodically updated with DNA sequences from other individuals, but in a new analysis, Johns Hopkins scientists now say that the collective genomes of 910 people of African descent have a large chunk — about 300 million bits — of genetic material that is missing from the basic reference genome.

“There’s so much more human DNA than we originally thought,” says Steven Salzberg, Ph.D., the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, and Biostatistics at The Johns Hopkins University.

Knowing the variations in genomes across populations is essential to research design to reveal why certain people or groups of people may be more or less susceptible to common health conditions, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, and Salzberg says that scientists need to build more reference genomes that more closely reflect different populations.

“The whole world is relying on what is essentially a single reference genome, and when a particular DNA analysis doesn’t match the reference and you throw away those non-matching sequences, those discarded bits may in fact hold the answers and clues you are seeking,” says Salzberg.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @03:53PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @03:53PM (#764771)

    Of course it doesn't make sense. Humans are apes. "Jumping from apes to humans" is a nonsense statement. You are an ape. I am an ape. Everybody on here is an ape (with the possible exception of Bot).
    Until researchers get over this christian bullshit that 'humans' are not animals they will continue to fuck it up.
    You are an ape. Get over it.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @08:46PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @08:46PM (#764943)

    Ape = Non-human primates.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @01:11AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @01:11AM (#765017)

      human = religiously deluded ape.