This newly found organism doesn’t act like a virus or a cell, and that could change everything we know about biology.

A gene is a specific segment of DNA that tells cells how to function. A genome is the entirety of the genetic material inside an organism. The human genome consists of between 20,000 and 25,000 genes.

Scientists have pieced together a new draft of the human genome that better captures humanity’s genetic diversity. The new “pangenome” incorporates the DNA of 47 individuals from every ...