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

ANALYSIS OF LONG-PATH, LASER-CALIBRATED ATMOSPHERIC TRANSMISSION SPECTRA FROM 3 μm3\;\mu m TO 5 μ5\;\mum

Author Institution: Naval Research LaboratoryDuring the past two years the Infrared Mobile Optical Radiation Laboratory (IMORL) facility of the Naval Research Laboratory has assembled an extensile data base of high-resolution $(0.08\;cm^{-1})$, laser-calibrated, atmospheric transmission spectra covering a wide range of meteorological conditions. By numerically degrading the spectral resolution of the long-path, absolute transmission spectra from the NRL-IMORL data base, these measurements have been compared with the predictions of the LOWTRAN atmospheric propagation model. Results of comparisons made in the $1800\;cm^{-1}$ to $3200\;cm^{-1}$ atmospheric window indicate reasonably good agreement, particularly for high-visibility conditions. Based on this analysis, an improved algorithm has been derived for the LOWTRAN water-vapor-continuum estimates