WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.330 align:middle line:90% [MUSIC PLAYING] 00:00:02.330 --> 00:00:10.954 align:middle line:90% 00:00:10.954 --> 00:00:12.580 align:middle line:84% CHIARA MURGIA: The Human Genome Project 00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:15.280 align:middle line:84% is a tool that revolutionized our understanding 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:17.570 align:middle line:84% of the complexity of human genetics. 00:00:17.570 --> 00:00:20.285 align:middle line:84% It is the idea of sequencing, letter 00:00:20.285 --> 00:00:23.880 align:middle line:90% by letter, your human DNA. 00:00:23.880 --> 00:00:25.700 align:middle line:90% That's a big task. 00:00:25.700 --> 00:00:31.060 align:middle line:84% And when it was thought about the possibility of even doing 00:00:31.060 --> 00:00:33.605 align:middle line:84% that in the '80s, the technology was not quite up 00:00:33.605 --> 00:00:36.120 align:middle line:90% to speed to do the task. 00:00:36.120 --> 00:00:39.585 align:middle line:84% So it was launched as an international collaboration 00:00:39.585 --> 00:00:41.670 align:middle line:90% project in 1990. 00:00:41.670 --> 00:00:46.340 align:middle line:84% And it's probably the biggest international collaboration 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:50.240 align:middle line:84% project that was achieved by international-- 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:52.070 align:middle line:90% by the scientific community. 00:00:52.070 --> 00:00:58.580 align:middle line:84% And it took 11 years to have the first draft of the human DNA 00:00:58.580 --> 00:00:59.670 align:middle line:90% sequence. 00:00:59.670 --> 00:01:02.860 align:middle line:84% And to have a final draft, it took another couple of years, 00:01:02.860 --> 00:01:06.140 align:middle line:84% so it was published in 2003 and was made available 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:07.730 align:middle line:90% in the internet. 00:01:07.730 --> 00:01:13.240 align:middle line:84% That's another big change in the way biomedical scientists 00:01:13.240 --> 00:01:14.280 align:middle line:90% cooperated. 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:19.060 align:middle line:84% Before, everyone was keeping the results for themselves. 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:22.320 align:middle line:84% Now this information is public on the internet, 00:01:22.320 --> 00:01:25.840 align:middle line:84% and every person that works in the field can use it. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:29.800 align:middle line:84% And that made a big, huge impact in pretty much every branch 00:01:29.800 --> 00:01:32.570 align:middle line:90% of biomedical research. 00:01:32.570 --> 00:01:35.070 align:middle line:84% With the completion of the Human Genome Project, 00:01:35.070 --> 00:01:37.605 align:middle line:84% we now have acquired the complete list 00:01:37.605 --> 00:01:40.070 align:middle line:84% of building blocks necessary to put together 00:01:40.070 --> 00:01:41.800 align:middle line:90% a functional human being. 00:01:41.800 --> 00:01:45.310 align:middle line:84% But we're still learning how to assemble these parts 00:01:45.310 --> 00:01:48.680 align:middle line:84% and also trying to understand how they work together. 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:52.740 align:middle line:84% It's like having the list of parts of a space rocket, a very 00:01:52.740 --> 00:01:58.760 align:middle line:84% complex object, that having the list of its parts 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:00.500 align:middle line:90% might be a good starting point. 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:04.925 align:middle line:84% But very few people would be able to put together 00:02:04.925 --> 00:02:08.580 align:middle line:84% the rocket from the list of its components. 00:02:08.580 --> 00:02:13.230 align:middle line:84% More than 99% percent of DNA sequence between any two 00:02:13.230 --> 00:02:16.550 align:middle line:90% human individuals is identical. 00:02:16.550 --> 00:02:20.210 align:middle line:84% So the only part that varies is less than 1%. 00:02:20.210 --> 00:02:21.760 align:middle line:90% But this part is very important. 00:02:21.760 --> 00:02:24.015 align:middle line:84% It's the part that makes us individuals. 00:02:24.015 --> 00:02:29.840 align:middle line:84% It makes you have blue eyes and me have brown eyes, 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:34.800 align:middle line:84% but also impacts the way we are predisposed 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:36.960 align:middle line:90% to acquire diseases. 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:38.940 align:middle line:84% And also, we know now that it impacts 00:02:38.940 --> 00:02:41.100 align:middle line:90% the way we respond to diet. 00:02:41.100 --> 00:02:45.580 align:middle line:84% And that's what is really interesting in the nutrition 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:46.380 align:middle line:90% field. 00:02:46.380 --> 00:02:49.700 align:middle line:84% We know now that no every two individuals 00:02:49.700 --> 00:02:52.920 align:middle line:90% have the same requirements. 00:02:52.920 --> 00:02:54.700 align:middle line:84% And that's because there are differences 00:02:54.700 --> 00:02:59.080 align:middle line:90% in terms of gene variations. 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:01.070 align:middle line:84% Another level of complexity is added 00:03:01.070 --> 00:03:04.040 align:middle line:84% by the regulation of the genome activity-- biochemical 00:03:04.040 --> 00:03:06.090 align:middle line:90% modification of DNA. 00:03:06.090 --> 00:03:09.230 align:middle line:84% This is, in part, regulated by the environment, 00:03:09.230 --> 00:03:10.980 align:middle line:90% including our diet. 00:03:10.980 --> 00:03:15.630 align:middle line:84% We call this level of regulation epigenetics. 00:03:15.630 --> 00:03:19.800 align:middle line:84% It's also important to keep in mind that genetic information 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:23.710 align:middle line:84% is just one piece of the puzzle of an individual 00:03:23.710 --> 00:03:26.280 align:middle line:90% when it comes to health. 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:29.750 align:middle line:84% Lifestyle and environmental factors, 00:03:29.750 --> 00:03:32.740 align:middle line:84% such as diet and pollution exposure, 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:35.970 align:middle line:84% are essential to consider as well. 00:03:35.970 --> 00:03:44.235 align:middle line:90%