The VGP released its first 15 high-quality reference genome assemblies today, which are part of the project's first phase to sequence 260 vertebrate genomes.
An analysis of 3,800-year-old Yersinia pestis isolates pushed the advent of flea-based plague transmission back to around 4,000 years ago, earlier than once proposed.
Independent research teams identified and sequenced hepatitis B strains going back thousands of years from samples in Europe, uncovering now-extinct lineages.
The researchers estimated that the newly sequenced late Neanderthals likely split from the lineage leading to much older Altai Neanderthal roughly 150,000 years ago.
The UK's Human Fertility and Embryology Authority calls for consumer genetic testing companies to warn customers that testing could uncover family secrets, according to the Guardian.
