This release is based on the NCBI 36 assembly of the human genome [November 2005]. The data consists of a reference assembly of the complete genome plus the Celera WGS and a number of alternative assemblies of individual haplotypic chromosomes or regions.
The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium have published their scientific analysis of the finished human genome.
Since release 38 (April 2006) the gene annotation presented has been a combined Ensembl-Havana geneset, which incorporates more than 12,000 full-length protein-coding transcripts annotated by the Havana team with the Ensembl automatic gene build. The human genome sequence is now considered sufficiently stable that since 2004 the major genome browsers have come together to produce a common set of identifiers where CDS annotations of transcripts can be agreed and these identifiers are also shown.
The ENCODE (ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements) project aims to find functional elements in the human genome.