Scientists have finally assembled the full genetic blueprint for human life, adding the missing pieces to a puzzle nearly completed two decades ago. An international team described the first-ever sequencing of a complete human genome β the set of instructions to build a human being β in research published Thursday (31 March 2022) in the journal Science. The previous effort, celebrated across the world, was incomplete because DNA sequencing technologies of the day weren't able to read certain parts of it. Even after updates, it was missing about 8 percent of the genome. "It's equivalent to adding essentially an entire new chromosome to the human genome assembly," says Rajiv McCoy of Johns Hopkins University, who worked on the project. McCoy says new technology has enabled scientists to finish the task they set out on decades ago.
Scientists have decoded the entire human genome
In 2003, the Human Genome Project made history when it sequenced 92% of the human genome. But for nearly two decades since, scientists have struggled to decipher the remaining 8%. Now, a team of nearly 100 scientists from the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium has unveiled the complete human genome -- the first time it's been sequenced in its entirety, the researchers say.
"Having this complete information will allow us to better understand how we form as an individual organism and how we vary not just between other humans but other species," Evan Eichler, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of Washington and the research leader, said Thursday. Read more here:
Study shows link between THC, CBD exposure in the womb and childhood obesity
Pregnant women who were exposed to cannabis products that contained THC and CBD were more likely to have children with increased fat mass and blood sugar levels at age 5, a new pilot study found.
"There's this misconception that cannabis is safe," said study author Brianna Moore, an assistant professor at the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora, Colorado.
"So some women may use it in pregnancy, thinking that it's a safe alternative to other medicines, even prescribed medications," Moore said. Read more here:
Why does coffee make you poop?
For some people, coffee jump-starts their bowel movements in addition to their energy.
Despite the drink's popularity, there isn't a lot of research on why coffee sends many people running to the bathroom within minutes of consuming it.
"In some cases, as with coffee and bowel movements, there likely just hasn't been the medical demand to merit serious investigation," Dr. Kyle Staller, director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, said via email. Read more here:
Pandemic proving detrimental to students' health; teachers train to solve the problems
Since the pandemic started, experts have warned of a mental health crisis facing American children. That is now playing out at schools in the form of increased childhood depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, fights and thoughts of suicide at alarming levels, according to interviews with teachers, administrators, education officials and mental health experts.
In low-income areas, where adverse childhood experiences were high before the pandemic, the crisis is even more acute and compounded by a shortage of school staff and mental health professionals. Read more here:
World Health Organization says most of the world breathes bad air
The U.N. health agency says nearly everybody in the world breathes air that doesnβt meet its standards for air quality, calling for more action to reduce fossil-fuel use, which generates pollutants that cause respiratory and blood-flow problems and lead to millions of preventable deaths each year.
The World Health Organization, about six months after tightening its guidelines on air quality, on Monday issued an update to its database on air quality that draws on information from a growing number of cities, towns and villages across the globe β now over 6,000 municipalities. Read more here:
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