Study of 10,000 human genomes launched

Study of 10,000 human genomes launched. Jun 2010, PR 144/10 A project to decode the genomes of 10,000 people over the next three years has been launched, which will be one of the largest genome sequencing programmes ever undertaken. The project will involve data from TwinsUK Registry of twins, which is led by Professor Tim Spector at King's College London and is one of the richest collections of genotypic and phenotypic information on twins worldwide. The UK10K project is expected to uncover many rare genetic variants that are important in human disease, giving a much deeper picture of genetics that can be applied to other studies both in the UK and around the world. There are two components to the UK10K project: the genomes of four thousand people, who have each been studied for many diseases and traits over many years, will be completely sequenced; the gene-containing regions genomes of six thousand people with extreme obesity, neurodevelopmental disease and other conditions will also be studied. The 4000 genomes will be from two important groups of people who have been studied for many years - the TwinsUK and ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children - also known as Children of the 90s) studies. TwinsUK includes 11,000 twins born in the UK, some of whom have taken part in studies for more than 18 years.