The chromosome 22 sequence turned out to be a good preview of what the whole genome had in store. The spacing of repeated sequences along the chromosome and the presence of large-scale duplications were features that have turned up throughout the genome. The sequence also revealed a large number of pseudogenes, roughly 20 percent of the total gene population.
"To see the entire sequence of a human chromosome for the first time is like seeing an ocean liner emerge out of the fog, when all you've ever seen before were rowboats," Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health, said at the time. The NHGRI supported the US contribution to the sequencing of chromosome 22.
Technology was a key component, and not just in the laboratory. The Internet provided an online meeting place for the researchers, who met face to face only ...
