Credit: Z. ZHANG

Conservation biologists and geneticists from five countries are planning to sequence the genome of the giant panda (pictured).

There are only 1,600 giant pandas in the wild and another 270 in captivity. Loss of habitat, finicky eating habits and disease have taken their toll on the wild population, and breeding efforts have largely failed because of a disinterest in mating. Scientists hope that the sequencing project, announced on 6 March, will yield information that can help both groups.

The genome contains some 3 billion base pairs, and scientists suspect that it holds about the same number of genes as the human genome. The team, led by the Beijing Genomics Institute's Shenzhen branch, hopes to finish a draft within six months.