The stretches of DNA that differ from person to person, called variants, are a major part of what makes us unique, but they can also put us at greater risk of disease. Although we can currently spell out between 80% and 90% of the millions that are in the human genome, the remaining variants may hold clues for treating an array of diseases. Today the list of variants yet to be decoded has shrunk sizably.
A team led by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Baylor College of Medicine and DNAnexus has characterized over 20,000 variants in 273 genes of medical importance.
