Scientists map a full human genome for the first time, including previously hard-to-read 'junk DNA' that could contain clues about conditions from autism to aging

The human genome is all here.

19 years after the Human Genome Project finished, scientists have mapped the human genome with no gaps.

A group of about 100 scientists, the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium, was able to publish the most complete human genome yet.

Their findings were first announced in 2021, but this week marks the formal publication of the research.

The technology available at the time was not able to decode the human genome, which is why the original sequence did not include it.

Some called it "junk DNA", but other researchers found evidence that it could contain clues about issues such as aging and diseases.

When computers read a piece of the genome, they take apart a puzzle and see which pieces match up. If pieces of the puzzle are too similar, it is hard to match them.

Adam Phillipy of the National Human Genome Research Institute, who helped with the project, said that new computing power allowed them to put the regions of the genome back together.

The new reference genome could help scientists figure out which genes contribute to various disorders, why certain cells become cancerous, and more variations from person to person, such as tolerance for high altitude, NBC wrote.

Phillipy told NBC that it could be a step closer to everyone having easy-breezy access to their own genome.

Within 10 years, getting a complete, perfectly accurate human genome will be a routine part of health care and it will be cheap enough that it won't be a second thought.

Gene editing technology has been a hot topic for startup companies in the last year, such as Mammoth Biosciences, which has developed a new enzyme for making more precise changes to DNA.

Karen Miga, one of the founding members of the Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium, said that there is still more to be discovered.

Our work is not done. She said in a video accompanying the announcement that we need to work as a team to complete not only the genome but a panel of genomes that better represent genetic and genomic diversity around the world.