Introducing the Human Genome website

Sequencing the human genome stands out as one of the seminal scientific achievements of the twentieth century. Identifying the full three billion letter sequence common to every person on the planet is an awe-inspiring achievement, a cultural and philosophical landmark as much as a scientific one.

Yet, as pointed out by Sir John Sulston, one of the key players in the international consortium that sequenced the genome, genome sequencing is primarily about tool creation: the sequence is a means to an end rather than an end in itself.

We may now be able to describe the genome but much remains to be learnt about how it operates – how information stored in its 3 billion chemical letters is used to create and run human beings, and how genetic factors are influenced by (or influence) the environmental and cultural inputs that shape us just as much as our genetic heritage.

So we have much to learn about genes and how they affect our health and who we are. We remain on a journey of discovery.

But genes, let us remember, are a shared inheritance: we all have a genome and so we all have a stake in understanding what's in the genome.

In essence, that is what this website is all about – sharing information about the human genome and the genes within it. It is intended not to promote any particular point of view but, as far as possible, to provide a resource that interested parties can draw upon to form their own views. It aims to provide an accessible, balanced and up-to-date account of progress in understanding the human genome and the application of this understanding in different arenas – medical, personal and social.