From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@aeiveos.com)
Date: Mon May 08 2000 - 13:49:29 MDT
"Mapping" is a pretty nebulous concept. Sounds like some
marketing type with time on his hands trying to promote the
company before it does an IPO. [Which is not to say that
Doubletwist doesn't provide good software...] Most likely
what they did was scan the data in the public databases
for gene coding regions and then compute an overall number
of genes for the incomplete parts of the genome.
The interesting part of the article is that Chromosome 21 looks
to be about 0.264 MBP/gene thats probably a factor of 100 times
larger than the average gene (~2000 BP). Even if they are
missing half of the genes (as other reports suggest), that
implies only ~2% of the DNA useful "code".
... Robert, cloked in a brown shroud, skulks through the streets
and metropoli of the modern world, ringing a bell, shouting in
a mournful voice, "throw out the junk..., throw out the junk...".
(junk as in junk DNA)
Of course I could take a Shakesperian tone and mutter,
"Out damn junk, out I say!"
The interesting thing is the confusion over the # of genes.
About 5 years ago the estimate was ~70,000, then Incyte said
140,000, now Doubletwist says 105,000...
"Does anybody really know what time it is, ..."
R.
On Mon, 8 May 2000, Martin Ling wrote:
> The BBC is reporting that a previously unkown organisation is claiming
> to have a first draft mapping of the human genome.
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_741000/741022.stm
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