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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2002

An international consortium of scientists has launched a new project aimed at understanding how genes are related to diseases like diabetes, asthma and cancer.

The three-year $100 million International HapMap project is sponsored by the United States, Japan, China, Canada and a charity in London. It will study genes of four ethnic groups: Japanese, Chinese, the Yoruba of Nigeria, and Americans of Northern and Western European descent.

The project will look at large blocks of human DNA known as haplotypes. According to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, humans of all ethnic groups share common haplotypes.

Get the Story:
International Consortium Launches Genetic Variation Mapping Project (NIH 10/29)
Global Project on Genetic Variation Begins (The Washington Post 10/30)
Gene-Mappers Take New Aim at Diseases (The New York Times 10/30)
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Relevant Links:
The National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institute of Health - http://www.nhgri.nih.gov

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