Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Dithiol Aryl Arsenic Compounds as Potential Diagnostic and Therapeutic Radiopharmaceuticals

Arsenic-72 (⁷²As) and ⁷⁷As have nuclear properties useful for positron emission tomography (PET) and radiotherapy, respectively. The thiophilic nature of arsenic led to the evaluation of dithioarylarsines for potential use in radiopharmaceuticals. Several dithioarylarsines were synthesized from their arylarsonic acids and dithiols and were fully characterized by NMR, ESI-MS, and X-ray crystallography. This chemistry was translated to the no-carrier-added (nca) ⁷⁷As level. Because arsenic was available at the nca nanomolar level only as [⁷⁷As]­arsenate, this required addition of an aryl group directly to the As to form the [⁷⁷As]­arylarsonic acid. The [⁷⁷As]­arsenate was reduced from ⁷⁷As (V) to ⁷⁷As (III), and a modified Bart reaction was used to incorporate the aryl ring onto the ⁷⁷As, which was followed by dithiol addition. Various modifications and optimizations resulted in 95% radiochemical yield of nca [⁷⁷As]<i>p</i>-ethoxyphenyl-1,2-ethanedithiolatoarsine