Scientists have uncovered gravity’s impact on the human genome—research that reveals how it functions in outer space. The Human Genome Project was launched in 1990, preceded by decades of breakthroughs in genetics. It eventually gave us a sequence of the human genome. Yet, while the physical rules behind the genome’s organization remain an active area of research, many questions are still largely unanswered. Among these is the impact of an omnipresent force influencing life on Earth: gravity. A new study in the journal Science Advances addresses some of these weighty questions by using an innovative technique: creating a zero-gravity, or microgravity, environment in order to reveal gravity’s impact on a human cell. The method serves two purposes: isolating gravity’s impact on the genome by removing it as a factor in experiments while, at the same time, showing how the genome functions in outer space, where gravity is nonexistent. “On Earth, the role of gravity is intriguing—it is a constant mechanical stress on everything,” explains Alexandra Zidovska, an associate professor in New York University’s physics department, who led the study. “We wanted to know what gravity’s role is in the genome’s organization and function here on Earth. To uncover it, you...

In 2022, the first human genome was completed, filling in the last 8% of the genome left unresolved by the Human Genome Project. Researchers have now gone one step further and reconstructed a complete diploid genome, establishing the most complete and highest-quality human genome sequence to date. The new approach allows any individual’s genome to be analyzed at much higher accuracy than before, setting the stage for personalized genomic medicine. Complete diploid genomes provide additional, health-critical information A complete diploid genome contains telomere-to-telomere assemblies of both copies of each chromosome, with one copy inherited from each parent. “A complete diploid sequence is the most natural representation of a genome,” Prof. Adam Phillippy, a research professor of computer science, biomedical engineering, and genetic medicine and the senior author of the new work, told Technology Networks. The team sequenced the HG002 genome, which is widely used as a reference for diagnostics and DNA sequencing. The complete diploid genome revealed 15% more of the genome, adding over 900 million DNA bases that were missing from prior benchmark genomes. These include previously inaccessible regions relevant to cancer and neurological disorders. A paradigm shift for diagnostics and precision medicine Currently, human genome sequencing for genetic...

Credit: Dr. Judy Cho National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., today announced the selection of Judy Cho, M.D., as director of NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). Dr. Cho joins NIH from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City where she served as dean and professor of translational genetics. She is expected to begin her role on August 23, 2026. “We are entering a new era in which genomic discoveries can increasingly be translated into meaningful advances in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment,” said Dr. Bhattacharya. “Dr. Cho brings the scientific vision, collaborative leadership, and translational expertise needed to help realize that promise and advance the institute’s mission.” As NHGRI director, Dr. Cho will administer the investment of NHGRI’s more than $660 million budget, which supports extensive extramural research that accelerates foundational resources, technology development, and experimental and computational approaches for basic genomics and functional genomics research. Additionally, the institute supports the application of genomics to medical science and clinical care, and the ethical implications of genetic research. NHGRI funds a dynamic intramural research program in genetic and genomic science and technology, as well as clinical research in the genetic causes...

One of the most iconic visual representations in biological science is the double helix – the twisting, twin-stranded ladder that defines the shape of DNA molecules. But not all DNA follows this same recognizable pattern. Alternative kinds of DNA structures do exist, and new technologies are helping to reveal them. In a study last year, scientists identified where these "non-canonical" forms of DNA (aka non-B DNA) emerge in human and other primate genomes. The analysis, published in Nucleic Acids Research, helps to complete our understanding of the location and diversity of DNA formations inside our genome. "When the human genome was first published in 2001, it actually wasn't complete," said biologist Kateryna Makova from Pennsylvania State University. "About 8 percent of the genome, largely repetitive DNA, was left undetermined." A huge research effort in the years since, culminating in a project called the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) consortium, worked to fill in more of the data, assembling the most complete reference human genome in 2022, before finally sequencing the last missing piece in 2023. In 2025, T2T scientists took it a step further, completing the reference genomes for six ape species: chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutan, and siamang. In their...

The "dark proteome" is much more exciting than we thought.

J. Craig Venter, the scientist who raced to decode the human genome, has died at age 79. Venter rose to fame in the field for publishing the first bacterial genome ever decoded, along with a list of gene annotations, in 1995. The achievement kicked off an age of discovery in genetics, with researchers racing to decode the genomes of other pathogens—and eventually animals. As founder of Celera Genomics in 1998, Venter honed his method of decoding—whole-genome shotgun sequencing—which can rapidly sequence different parts of the genome at the same time and then uses machine learning to reassemble them in the right order. The technique allowed him to enter the race to decode the human genome late. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. Celera went up against an international, U.S.-government-backed research group known as the Human Genome Project in a competition that spurred each side on until Venter—having come under significant pressure from the Clinton administration—agreed to a draw with the group. Notably, Venter used his own genome...

Headlines call it alien. Scientists call it horizontal gene transfer. What the latest genomic research actually reveals is far more extraordinary and far more terrestrial than either framing suggests. Roughly 8% of your DNA was written by viruses. “Alien DNA” Headlines Oversimplify The Reality of Viral Gene Integration Every few months, a paper drops in genomics and the science communication machinery briefly overheats.

Was the Human Genome Forged by Fire? New research into burn-response genes shows evidence of accelerated evolution.

Leon Bibi is a researcher and author who explores the provocative theory of alien intervention in the human genome and evolutionary development. Bibi examines anomalies in human DNA, sudden evolutionary leaps, ancient myths, and modern scientific findings to suggest that non-human intelligence may have played a role in shaping humanity’s biological and cognitive evolution. His work bridges genetics, ancient astronaut theory, and alternative anthropology, encouraging discussion about humanity’s origins, the possibility of guided evolution, and the broader implications of extraterrestrial involvement in human history.

The research represents a major step forward in revealing how the three dimensional form of DNA shapes the way human biology functions. In a major step toward understanding how the physical form of DNA...

The Human Genome Project was completed a little over twenty years ago. Now, scientists involved in the 4D Nucleome Project have created a detailed map that not only showcases the human genome in 3D, but reveals how different components of...

An illustration depicts early Europeans who lived in what’s now Ranis, Germany, around 45,000 years ago. Credit: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Some 45,000 years ago, in the frigid reaches of Ice Age Europe, a small band of humans...