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Human Genome Project

An international project to map all human genetic material

The aim of the Human Genome Project, which was launched in 1990 by an international team of researchers, was to decode all 3 billion base pairs in the human genome. In 1995 Germany joined the team and went on to characterise the base sequence of around 1.5 per cent of the genome.

In 2001 it was announced that every human gene had been mapped. Scientists discovered that only three to five per cent of the DNA is present in the form of genes. The remaining DNA consists of regulatory elements, deactivated pseudogenes and regions of repeating sequences.