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

Breathing retraining benefit’s women’s blood pressure and mental well-being during COVID-19 responses

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 1. To assess twenty female volunteers' recall, implementation, and maintenance of healthy lifestyle behavior recommendations 2. To measure the incidence of symptoms and signs of DB in eleven female volunteers 3. To evaluate whether breathing retraining (brief education and paced breathing intervention for four weeks) modifies DB symptoms/signs, BP, HRV, psychological stress, and mental well-being measure 4. To determine if participants think breathing retraining is feasible to support their physical and mental well-being self-efficacy ABSTRACT Raised blood pressure (BP) is the greatest contributor to women’s cardiovascular disease and death. While the link between night-time dysfunctional breathing (DB) and BP is known, the incidence of daytime DB and its contribution to health concerns in the general population is unclear. This study aimed to assess the relationship between daytime DB and mental and physical health. DB, BP, heart rate variability, and mental well-being were assessed in eleven women (age 47.8±12 years; weight  81.5±18.4 kg; height 167.9±7.3 cm; BMI 29.1±7.6 kg/m2) before and after a four-week breathing retraining intervention. An interview collected participant thoughts to gauge the benefits, difficulties, and feasibility of breathing retraining. Non-parametric and thematic analyses were employed. Following the intervention, overall DB reduced by 54.5%. Statistically significant changes were observed in the self-evaluation of breathing (p = 0.005) and Nijmegen questionnaires (p = 0.003), STOPBANG (p = 0.014), systolic BP (p < 0.05 ), perceived stress (p = 0.007), and well-being (p = 0.009). Targeted breathing retraining has the potential to mitigate stress-related mental/physical illness during unpredictable and persistent life stressors. All participants stated they would continue with paced breathin