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Genome analysis yields variety of findings By The Associated Press
Feb. 10, 2001 | 6:53 p.m.
Here's a sampling of findings one or both teams report from inspecting
almost all the human genome:

-- People seem to have only 26,000 to 40,000 genes, which falls low in the
previous range of estimates. Both teams called that finding a surprise.

-- Inherited genetic mutations arise about twice as often in men than
women, a finding that confirms a recent study.

-- Only 1 percent to 1.5 percent of the human DNA carries instructions
for making proteins, compared to the 3 percent to 5 percent the
researchers expected. Genes tell cells how to make proteins, which are
crucial for each cell's structure and functioning.

-- Along the stretches of DNA, genes tend to occur in clusters, like
cities separated by vast stretches of countryside. The clustering turns
out to be more pronounced than scientists had thought.

-- Some 200 human genes apparently arose from genes that were
somehow inserted into humanity's early vertebrate ancestors by
bacteria. If true, that ``would really be a major surprise,'' commented
Johann Peter Gogarten of the University of Connecticut in Storrs.
AP-CS-02-10-01 1951EST

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