Carla Mooney - The Human Genome: Mapping the Blueprint of Human Life

1865: Gregor Mendel discovers factors, or genes.

1869: Johann Friedrich Miescher extracts DNA from the nuclei of white blood cells.

1910: Thomas Hunt Morgan establishes the chromosomal theory of heredity.

1913: Alfred Sturtevant creates the first gene map.

1953: James Watson, Francis Crick, and Rosalind Franklin contribute to the discovery of the structure of DNA, a double helix.

1977: Fred Sanger and Walter Gilbert develop techniques to read and sequence chemical bases of DNA.

1983: Kary Mullis develops a copying machine to make copies of specific regions on DNA quickly in a test tube.

1983: The gene for Huntingtons disease, a genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive and psychiatric problems, is located on chromosome 4.

1984: Alec Jeffreys develops DNA fingerprinting techniques that can be used to identify people and solve crimes.

1984: The study of evolution at the DNA level begins.

1985: The gene for cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that often affects the lungs, is located on chromosome 7.

1986: Leroy Hood develops the automated sequencing machine.

1987: Scientists develop a genealogical tree that suggests all human mitochondrial DNA can be traced back to a common African maternal ancestor.

1988: The Human Genome Project begins with the goal of mapping the entire sequence of DNA in human chromosomes.

1990: Scientists propose to decode the human genome within 15 years.

1995: A small bacterium H. influenzae is sequenced.

1996: A yeast genome is sequenced.

1998: The roundworm C. elegans is sequenced.

2000: U.S. President Bill Clinton announces that scientists have completed a first draft of the human genome.

2001: The first draft of the human genome sequence is published.

2002: The mouse genome is sequenced.

2002: The International HapMap Project launches to map common human genome variations by population group.

2003: The full sequence of the human genome is completed and published.

2003: The National Human Genome Research Institute launches a project named ENCODE to identify and describe all of the functional parts of the human genome.

2004: The rat genome is sequenced.

2005: The National Geographic Society and IBM launch a massive project to use DNA to map human migration during the last 60,000 years.

2008: The 1000 Genomes Project launches with the goal of sequencing more than 2,500 individuals from 26 different populations worldwide.

2008: DNA from a previously unknown line of ancient humans is extracted from a fossilized fingertip found in Denisova Cave in Russia.

2012: The ENCODE project publishes its results in a catalog of genetic data.

2017: Scientists are able to use CRISPR genome editing technology to correct a dangerous mutation in a human embryo and create a healthy embryo.

2019: Scientists adapt CRISPR genome editing technology to allow them to cut and splice large genome fragments more easily.