Evolutionary forces tend to retain important DNA sequences, whilst allowing unimportant sequences to change. Consequently, protein-coding regions - only about 1.5 per cent of the human genome - are similar in all mammalian species.
Major new funding for the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, announced today, will help in the battle against human disease, including three of the world's biggest killers - cancer, malaria and diabetes.
The genome sequence of the most common mould that causes disease worldwide is published in Nature on Thursday 22 December 2005. The code of Aspergillus fumigatus, an air-borne, soil-dwelling fungus, was cracked by an international team led by researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, The Institute for Genomic Research and the University of Manchester.
Through the Human Genome Project, the HapMap Project and other efforts, we are beginning to identify genes that are modified in some diseases. What are more difficult to measure and identify are the regulatory regions in DNA - the 'managers' of genes - that control gene activity and might be important in causing disease.
The International HapMap Consortium today published a comprehensive catalogue of human genetic variation, a landmark achievement that is already accelerating the search for genes involved in common diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is a world leader in DNA sequencing and is applying the same determination and skills to gene analysis. That effort is recognized today in the announcement that the Institute is a major partner in a new European Commission consortium - EUCOMM.
Major new cutting-edge science facilities have been opened today at the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus in a ceremony conducted by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal. Princess Anne toured the new laboratory and IT accommodation housing the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute's latest programmes of research activities.
The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC) is a collaboration of 24 leading human geneticists, who will analyse thousands of DNA samples from patients suffering with different diseases to identify common genetic variations for each condition. It is hoped that by identifying these genetic signposts, researchers will be able to understand which people are most at risk, and also produce more effective treatments.
A virus with a gigantic genome that infects chalk-covered marine algae contains compounds that could be developed for use in anti-ageing and cancer-inhibiting therapies.
The genomes of parasites that cause three major diseases in the developing world - sleeping sickness, Chagas' disease and leishmaniasis - have been decoded by international teams of scientists, it was revealed today.