China launches the largest human genome research project

In order to document the genetic makeup of one lakh people to help drive the precision medicines for the future, China has released the world's largest project regarding human genome research.

The project will collect the genetic data of Han ethnic majority people from all over the country and nine other ethnic minority groups with a population of more than 5 million including the Zhuang and Hui people.

There are about 25,000 human genes and the project aims to decode the hereditary information contained in each. The project would detect the genetic links between health and sickness and involve one person from different ethnic backgrounds and regions.

The project will include four stages - collecting, sequencing gene samples, gathering the data and sharing the findings. Researchers will create a health contrast pool, gathering genetic information from those who suffer a variety of diseases.

The project will conclude all its gene sequencing and analysis within four years, which will also make it the fastest genome engineering project in the world.

China has listed genomics as a key strategic field in its 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) for the country's economic and social development. Yu Jun, former deputy head of the Beijing Institute of Genomics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has revealed that the project was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, which has been working on promoting precision medicine for years.