Competition boosts bid to find human genes

摘要

The human genome sequence has perplexed researchers from the moment the draft version was assembled in 2001. The problem: our genome seems to contain remarkably few protein-coding genes. The current estimate is between 20,000 and 25,000 — not many more than far simpler organisms such as nematode worms. But pinning down the exact number has proved to be a laborious business, and efforts have so far made only limited progress. Bioinformaticians meeting in Cambridge, UK, last week were optimistic that they can reverse this trend, thanks to a competition called E-GASP.