Nearly two centuries ago, in this room, on this floor, Thomas Jefferson and a trusted aide spread out a magnificent map, a map Jefferson had long prayed he would get to see in his lifetime.
The aide was Meriwether Lewis and the map was the product of his courageous expedition across the American frontier all the way to the Pacific. It was a map that defined the contours and forever expanded the frontiers of our continent and our imagination.
Today the world is joining us here in the East Room to behold the map of even greater significance. We are here to celebrate the completion of the first survey of the entire human genome. Without a doubt, this is the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by human kind. ~ Bill Clinton

The human genome is the complete set of nucleic acid sequence for humans (Homo sapiens), encoded as DNA within the 23 chromosome pairs in cell nuclei and in a small DNA molecule found within individual mitochondria. Human genomes include both protein-coding DNA genes and noncoding DNA.

Quotes

The human genome, like the structure of blood, air or water, was discovered, not created. There is an endless amount of information on genes that begs for further discovery, and gene patents put up unacceptable barriers to the free exchange of ideas ~ Chris Hansen
You may be surprised to learn that your sequencers are greater than 90 percent identical to proteins in other animals. It's my belief that the basic knowledge that we're providing the world will have a profound impact on the human condition and the treatments for disease and our view on our place in the biological continuum. The genome sequence represents a new starting point for science and medicine with potential impact on every disease. ~ Craig Venter
  • Nearly two centuries ago, in this room, on this floor, Thomas Jefferson and a trusted aide spread out a magnificent map, a map Jefferson had long prayed he would get to see in his lifetime.
    The aide was Meriwether Lewis and the map was the product of his courageous expedition across the American frontier all the way to the Pacific. It was a map that defined the contours and forever expanded the frontiers of our continent and our imagination.
    Today the world is joining us here in the East Room to behold the map of even greater significance. We are here to celebrate the completion of the first survey of the entire human genome. Without a doubt, this is the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by human kind.
  • What more powerful form of study of mankind could there be than to read our own instruction book? I've been privileged over the last seven years to lead an international team of more than a thousand of some of the best and brightest scientists of our current generation, some of them here in this room, who have been truly dedicated to this goal. Today we celebrate the revelation of the first draft of the human book of life.
  • Most of the sequencing of the human genome by this international consortium has been done in just the last 15 months. During that time, this consortium has developed the capacity to sequence 1,000 letters of the DNA code per second, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. We have developed a map of overlapping fragments that include 97 percent of the human genome, and we have sequenced 85 percent of this.
  • Aside from inheriting half of the genome of each of our parents, we are born with a small number of novel mutations that occurred during gametogenesis and postzygotically.
    • Rocio Acuna-Hidalgo, Joris A. Veltman & Alexander Hoischen, [“New insights into the generation and role of de novo mutations in health and disease”] Genome Biology, volume 17, Article number: 241 (2016)
  • The analysis of mutation rates in genomic repeat elements has also been applied to study transgenerational IR effects in human populations, namely in individuals living in the vicinity of the Chernobyl reactor accident or near nuclear test sites (Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan; Dubrova et al., 1996, 2002a, b). In all of these studies, they found an increase in the mutation rate among the progeny of the exposed parents. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that exposure to IR can induce germline genomic instability that may predispose future generations to an increase risk of genetic diseases, infertility, and even cancer.
  • You may be surprised to learn that your sequencers are greater than 90 percent identical to proteins in other animals. It's my belief that the basic knowledge that we're providing the world will have a profound impact on the human condition and the treatments for disease and our view on our place in the biological continuum. The genome sequence represents a new starting point for science and medicine with potential impact on every disease. Taking the example cancer, each day approximately 2,000 people die in America from cancer. As a consequence of the genome efforts that you've heard described by Dr. Collins and myself this morning and the research that will be catalyzed by this information, there is at least the potential to reduce the number of cancer deaths...
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