The Human Genome Project set out to sequence the DNA of every human chromosome, thereby promising to advance knowledge of human biology and improve medicine. This project was huge in scale, as it sought to determine the order of all 3 billion nucleotides in the human genome. To reach this lofty goal, scientists developed a number of sequencing techniques that emphasized speed without too much loss of accuracy. Initially, these techniques expanded upon the so-called Sanger process that was first developed in the 1970s, gradually automating this process and increasing the number of samples that could be sequenced at one time. In fact, machines that used an automated version of Sanger method were essential to completion of various stages of the Human Genome Project. In recent years, however, researchers have increasingly begun to rely on newer and even faster methods, including the technique known as 454 sequencing.