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

Challenges Facing Investment Disputes: Reconsidering Dispute Resolution in International Investment Agreements

This volume brings together significant contributions from leading voices in academia, the legal profession and government on the increasingly important topic of international investment and the legal system in which it operates. With the burgeoning size of international capital flows matched only by an explosion in international agreements intending to regulate the field, there is increasing potential for incoherence amongst and between treaties and arbitral decisions. Appeals Mechanism in International Investment Disputes compiles, compares and contrasts the analysis and arguments of the leading scholars, practitioners and government officials on the future of the international investment law regime. Its special emphasis is on the question of an appellate body for international investment disputes. The authors also seek ways to streamline and improve the system, channeling the benefits of free trade and investment flows to people in both the developing and emerging markets. The Appendices provide readers with extensive background material to place the chapters into context. Selected sections include concise commentaries to further illuminate the timely themes covered by the chapters. The volume is singular in its success at bringing together so many exceptional individuals on a question of growing import-how to improve the international law regime to increase prosperity and further global development. If a reader wants to know what the influential voices in international law are saying right now, and in a concise and readable format, this is the publication to have.https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_bk_contributions/1389/thumbnail.jp

Challenges Facing Investment Disputes: Reconsidering Dispute Resolution in International Investment Agreements

This volume brings together significant contributions from leading voices in academia, the legal profession and government on the increasingly important topic of international investment and the legal system in which it operates. With the burgeoning size of international capital flows matched only by an explosion in international agreements intending to regulate the field, there is increasing potential for incoherence amongst and between treaties and arbitral decisions. Appeals Mechanism in International Investment Disputes compiles, compares and contrasts the analysis and arguments of the leading scholars, practitioners and government officials on the future of the international investment law regime. Its special emphasis is on the question of an appellate body for international investment disputes. The authors also seek ways to streamline and improve the system, channeling the benefits of free trade and investment flows to people in both the developing and emerging markets. The Appendices provide readers with extensive background material to place the chapters into context. Selected sections include concise commentaries to further illuminate the timely themes covered by the chapters. The volume is singular in its success at bringing together so many exceptional individuals on a question of growing import-how to improve the international law regime to increase prosperity and further global development. If a reader wants to know what the influential voices in international law are saying right now, and in a concise and readable format, this is the publication to have.https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_bk_contributions/1389/thumbnail.jp