DNA project gives scientists diverse genome for comparison

By LAURA UNGAR
AP Science Writer

For two decades, scientists have been comparing every person’s genetic blueprint they study to a template that relies mostly on just one man. But now, scientists are building a much more diverse set of reference genomes called a pangenome that combines genetic material from 47 people from various places around the world. It’s the subject of four papers published Wednesday in the journals Nature and Nature Biotechnology. Scientists say it’s already teaching them more about health and disease and should lead to better genetic testing, personalized medicine and drug development in the future.