On Sept. 13, 2010, an international consortium published the largest survey of human genetic variation thus far: a third-generation map that includes data from 11 global populations. The accomplishment will help in the ongoing search for genetic variants associated with complex diseases.

For the latest version, researchers analyzed about 1.6 million SNPs in a much broader range of samples from around the world. As reported in the September 2, 2010, issue of Nature, the HapMap now includes data from an additional 7 global populations, bringing the total number of volunteers to almost 1,200.