To facilitate biomedical studies comparing regions of the chimp genome with
similar regions of the human genome, the researchers also have aligned the
draft version of the chimp sequence with the human sequence. Those alignments
can be scanned using the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Genome
Browser; the National
Center for Biotechnology Information’s Map Viewer;
and the European Bioinformatics Institute’s Ensembl system.

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University
of Washington in Seattle, Washington University and the Broad Institute (MIT/Harvard),
is currently comparing the chimp and human genome sequences and plans to publish
results of its analysis in the next several months.

Chimpanzees are the most closely related species to humans. Consequently,
comparative analysis of the human and chimp genomes can reveal unique types
of information impossible to obtain from comparing the human genome with the
genomes of other animals. For more on the scientific rationale for sequencing
the chimp genome, go to: Sequencing the Chimpanzee Genome.
For more on comparative genomic analysis, go to: Background on Comparative Genomic Analysis.

NHGRI is one of 27 institutes and centers at NIH, an agency of the Department
of Health and Human Services. The NHGRI Division of Extramural Research supports
grants for research and for training and career development at sites nationwide.
Information about NHGRI can be found at: www.genome.gov.