Annual Review of Genetics, 2016

Since the last Annual Review of Genetics was published, the world saw the launch of the Human Cell Atlas – a multi-institute, multi-country endeavour to create a profile of all the different kinds of cells in a human body in terms of their gene expression and other molecules. This has been possible due to the unprecedented advances made in the field of sequencing single DNA/RNA molecules. On the other hand, discovery of ancient remains of both Homo sapiens and other hominins continues to revolutionize our understanding of human evolution. Recent findings have pushed the history of H. sapiens at least 100,000 years further back than that considered earlier and have thrown light on the food habits of the Neanderthals. Genetics, as it has since its inception, retains its position at the helm of biological research.