Survey 'Entire Human Instruction Book'

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), just announced grants totaling more than $80 million over the next four years to expand the ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project, which in its pilot phase yielded provocative new insights into the organization and function of the human genome. "Based on ENCODE's early success, we are moving forward with a full-scale initiative to build a parts list of biologically functional elements in the human genome," said NHGRI Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. "The ENCODE pilot, which looked at just 1 percent of the human genetic blueprint, produced findings that are reshaping many long-held views about our genome. ENCODE's effort to survey the entire genome will uncover even more exciting surprises, providing us with a more complete picture of the biological roots of human health and disease." While the sequencing of the human genome was a major scientific achievement, it was just the first step toward the ultimate goal of using genomic information to diagnose, treat and prevent disease. In recent years, researchers have made major strides in using DNA sequence data to help find genes, which are the parts of the genome that code for proteins.