They were so close. Just 8 percent of the human genome sequence remained unknown. But it would be almost 20 years until the Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium cracked the code. To get there, about 100 scientists—some part of the original Human Genome Project and many new—joined forces to work together across the globe. They relied on improved technologies, lab tools—and “too many Zoom calls to count,” says Evan Eichler, a University of Washington professor who worked on the original project and co-led the consortium effort. That deep collaboration may have worked in the team’s favor. “It was very dynamic,” he says. “Anyone who had something to contribute would be considered.” Adding nearly 200 million letters to the genetic code, the team has helped unlock the building block of humanity—which will only unleash even more innovation. “When you think about trying to find the genes that make us human or the genes that mutate and make us sick, we need comprehensive information,” says E...