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Geneticists have made a complete map of the human genome
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
Geneticists have managed to create a detailed map of the human genetic code.
In recent years, scientists have assumed that the basis of human nature is less than 2% of the entire genome, that is, 20 thousand genes, and most of the DNA helix carries no information. The remaining 98% of genes were considered "useless or junk DNA."
However, researchers from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) International Project, which began in the late 1990s, have found that 80% of this so-called "junk DNA" is actually biologically active.
More than 400 specialists from 32 scientific laboratories participated in the study and decoding of the human genome. They examined about 3 billion pairs of genes that make up the double helix of DNA.
"The results of this study show that previous assumptions are wrong because most of the genome is biologically active, and it is time to retire the term 'junk DNA'," said Dr Euan Birnie, who led the project at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge.
“We’ve come a long way,” said Evan Burney, a professor at the European Bioinformatics Institute in the United Kingdom and lead analyst and coordinator of the ENCODE project. “By carefully analysing and integrating a stunning array of data, we’ve discovered that the human genome functions by turning genes on and off to control protein production. ENCODE has advanced our understanding of the genome to a new level, and all of this new knowledge is freely available.”
The ENCODE Consortium compiled all the data obtained and, after checking its accuracy and reliability, posted it online for free public access.
“The ENCODE database is like a Google map of the human genome,” explains NHGRI program director Dr. Alice Finegold. “By simply zooming in and out on the Google map, you can see countries, states, cities, streets, and even individual intersections, and by selecting a specific feature, you can see photos, street names, traffic information, and even weather information. In this way, the ENCODE map allows researchers to study chromosomes, genes, functional elements, and individual nucleotides in the human genome.”
The ENCODE database is quickly becoming a fundamental resource for researchers to understand human biology and disease.
More than a hundred articles have already been published using this data by scientists who were not involved in the project.
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