One person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Sometimes it’s even true in science. Nearly 20 years ago, researchers said they had completed a groundbreaking project, sequencing the human genome. But they were missing about 8%. Some researchers at the time called the missing pieces “junk.” Still, a team of about 100 researchers kept going and has now finished a truly complete sequence. It’s a genomic “Rosetta Stone,” a reference guide capable of revealing what makes humans, human. One of the lead authors, Dr. Evan Eichler, tells us how filling in the gaps will improve the way we understand disease and advance personalized medicine.

Full research article from the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium: The complete sequence of a human genome Read more from the Wall Street Journal: First ‘Gapless’ Human Genome Map Is Unveiled, Years After Prior Effort 

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