The Human Genome Project is the largest international collaboration ever undertaken in biology. Between 1990 and 2003, thousands of scientists worldwide undertook the immense task of sequencing the 3 billion bases of genetic information that resides in every human cell.

Finished human genome contains even fewer genes than expected

Genome sequencing

Chromosome 1 sequenced

Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and colleagues in the UK and USA have published the annotated sequence of chromosome 1. 17/05/06

Chromosome 12 annotated sequence complete

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine's Human Genome Sequencing Center have published the annotated sequence of chromosome 12. 16/03/06

Human chromosome 18 completed

Barren but not a wasteland. 22/09/05

Scientists analyse chromosomes 2 and 4

Detailed analysis of chromosomes 2 and 4 detects the largest 'gene deserts' known in the human genome and uncovers more evidence that human chromosome 2 arose from the fusion of two ancestral ape chromosomes. 06/04/05

X chromosome unveiled

New insights into the role of sex chromosomes in health and disease. 17/03/05

What is the Human Genome Project?

Between 1990 and 2003, the Human Genome Project undertook he immense task of sequencing the 3 billion bases of genetic information that resides in every human cell. 01/11/04

The Human Genome Sequencing Consortium

The International Human Genome Sequencing consortium brought together scientists at 20 institutions in six countries: France, Germany, Japan, China, the UK and USA. 01/11/04

Human chromosome 5 completed

Researchers reach the halfway point in dotting the i's and crossing the t's of the final human genome. 15/09/04

Human chromosomes 9 and 10 completed

One-tenth of the human genome is unveiled. 27/05/04

Gene-poor chromosome 13 sequence completed

Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have completed the sequence of human chromsome 13. 01/04/04

Gene-rich human chromosome 19 sequence completed

The sequencing of human chromosome 19 has been completed by the United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and Stanford University. 31/03/04

Celera to release genome data

Celera Genomics, the company that 'raced' the public Human Genome Project to finish sequencing the human genome, will be depositing its human genome sequence, once only available by subscription, into the online database GenBank. 19/02/04

Chromosome 6 unravelled

The largest chromosome completed to date has many genes for the human immune system. 23/10/03

Sequence of human chromosome 7 finalised

The final, high-accuracy sequence of human chromosome 7 has been completed - joining the sequences of chromosomes 14, 20, 21, 22 and Y. 10/07/03

Y chromosome sequence unveiled

The DNA sequence of the human Y chromosome - the 'maleness' chromosome - has been published. 16/06/03

Human genome sequencing completed

The International Human Genome Consortium has announced the successful completion of the Human Genome Project more than two years ahead of schedule. 14/04/03

Human Genome Project history 8: A genome available to all

Celera's approach to human genome sequencing challenged the guiding ethos of the public Human Genome Project: free and unrestricted access to genome data. 28/02/01

Human Genome Project history 2: Press views of the launch

With the launch of the Human Genome Project, the press argued over whether the human genome would be a 'holy grail of biology' or 'a splendid piece of symbolism and a scientific disaster'. 28/02/01

Human Genome Project history 10: Press views of the first draft

The announcement of the first draft of the human genome on 26 June 2000 was big news. 28/02/01

Human Genome Project history 1: The project begins

In the late 1980s, biologists first began to entertain the idea that, given the funds and the technology, it would be possible to read the entire human genome, the three billion letters in the 'book of life'. 28/02/01

Human Genome Project history 3: The worm leads the way

The science that would provide the basis for mapping and sequencing the human genome was developed on a smaller scale: the sequencing of the genome of the humble nematode worm. 28/02/01

Human Genome Project history 9: The first draft, June 2000

After 1998, a stunning acceleration in sequence production by the main centres in the Human Genome Project saw them go from 6 per cent to 90 per cent of the genome in under two years. This sequence, the first draft, was announced on 26 June 2000. 28/02/01

Human Genome Project history 4: Enter the Wellcome Trust

In 1993, with US entrepreneurs attempting to headhunt John Sulston and Bob Waterston, potentially undermining the Human Genome Project, the Wellcome Trust stepped in to fund a new sequencing institute, the Sanger Centre. 28/02/01

Human Genome Project history 5: 'Why fiddle around?'

Proposals in 1995 for a massive acceleration in sequencing of the human genome founder amid concerns about centralisation and accuracy. 28/02/01

Human Genome Project history 7: Press views of public vs private sequencing

When Celera announced that it planned to sequence the human genome, the race between the public and private efforts was on (in the media's eyes at least). 28/02/01

Human Genome Project history 6: Public versus private

In 1998, the entry of Celera Genomics into the human genome sequencing arena galvanises the public effort. 28/02/01