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"A haplotype map of the human genome," by The International HapMap Consortium (D. Altshuler, et al.), Nature, 437(7063): 1299-1320, 27 October 2005.

[Authors' affiliations: 63 institutions worldwide]

Abstract: "Inherited genetic variation has a critical but as yet largely uncharacterized role in human disease. Here we report a public database of common variation in the human genome: more than one million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for which accurate and complete genotypes have been obtained in 269 DNA samples from four populations, including ten 500-kilobase regions in which essentially all information about common DNA variation has been extracted. These data document the generality of recombination hotspots, a block-like structure of linkage disequilibrium and low haplotype diversity, leading to substantial correlations of SNPs with many of their neighbours. We show how the HapMap resource can guide the design and analysis of genetic association studies, shed light on structural variation and recombination, and identify loci that may have been subject to natural selection during human evolution."

This 2005 report from Nature was cited 154 times in current journal articles indexed by Thomson Scientific during September-October 2007. For its tenth consecutive bimonthly period--a streak that now goes back two years--this report stands atop the list of the most-cited biology papers (excluding reviews) indexed since late 2005. Prior to the most recent two-month count, citations to the paper have accrued as follows:

July-August 2007: 69 citations
May-June 2007: 84
March-April 2007: 59
January-February 2007: 95
November-December 2006: 75
September-October 2006: 94
July-August 2006: 57
May-June 2006: 74
March-April 2006: 55
January-February 2006: 22
November-December 2005: 7

Total citations to date: 845

SOURCE: Hot Papers Database (Included with a subscription to the print newsletter Science Watch^®, available from the Research Services Group of Thomson Scientific. Packaged on a CD that is mailed with each Science Watch issue, the Hot Papers Database contains data on hundreds of highly cited papers published during the last two years. User interface permits searching by author, organization, journal, field, and more. Total citations, as well as citations accrued during successive bimonthly periods, can be assessed and graphed. An updated CD containing the most recent bimonthly data is mailed with every new issue of Science Watch, six times a year. The CD also includes an electronic version of the Science Watch issue in HTML format, for personal desktop access.