Status of the BELLE II Pixel Detector

The Belle II experiment at the super KEK B-factory (SuperKEKB) in Tsukuba, Japan, has been collecting $e^+e^−$ collision data since March 2019. Operating at a record-breaking luminosity of up to $4.7×10^{34} cm^{−2}s^{−1}$, data corresponding to $424 fb^{−1}$ has since been recorded. The Belle II VerteX Detector (VXD) is central to the Belle II detector and its physics program and plays a crucial role in reconstructing precise primary and decay vertices. It consists of the outer 4-layer Silicon Vertex Detector (SVD) using double sided silicon strips and the inner two-layer PiXel Detector (PXD) based on the Depleted P-channel Field Effect Transistor (DePFET) technology. The PXD DePFET structure combines signal generation and amplification within pixels with a minimum pitch of $(50×55) μm^2$. A high gain and a high signal-to-noise ratio allow thinning the pixels to $75 μm$ while retaining a high pixel hit efficiency of about $99$. As a consequence, also the material budget of the full detector is kept low at $≈0.21$$\frac{X}{X_0}$ per layer in the acceptance region. This also includes contributions from the control, Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), and data processing Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) as well as from cooling and support structures. This article will present the experience gained from four years of operating PXD; the first full scale detector employing the DePFET technology in High Energy Physics. Overall, the PXD has met the expectations. Operating in the intense SuperKEKB environment poses many challenges that will also be discussed. The current PXD system remains incomplete with only 20 out of 40 modules having been installed. A full replacement has been constructed and is currently in its final testing stage before it will be installed into Belle II during the ongoing long shutdown that will last throughout 2023

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