The Human Genome Project: the Beginning of the Beginning

<正>In May 1985 there was at University of California Santa Cruz an influential meeting that was the first serious discussion of sequencing the entire human genome.The author was one of the participants and described the meeting and related issues.The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a historical and landmark scientific project.In spite of initial controversy it has become a bedrock foundation for much progress in biological science and human health.After the Human Genome Project was completed in the early 2000s,next generation sequencing technologies were developed and that has revolutionized genomics.Here is a brief account of the May 1985 meeting at University of California Santa Cruz.Historical accounts often begin with a the Department of Energy (DOE) meeting in Santa Fe in March 1986 and neglect including the Santa Cruz meeting[1],although sometimes it is discussed [2].