The article introduces a new approach to understanding genome variations in KEGG, a comprehensive database for biological interpretation of genome sequences and high-throughput data. The authors, Minoru Kanehisa and colleagues, highlight the limitations of KEGG's generic approach in representing human-specific variations, particularly in the health information category. To address this, they have developed KEGG NETWORK, a database that explicitly incorporates human gene variants into network variants. This allows for the accumulation of knowledge about disease-related perturbations caused by gene variants, viruses, environmental factors, and drugs. The KEGG NETWORK database is designed to provide a detailed picture of network-disease associations, particularly for understanding human diseases. The article also discusses other developments in KEGG, including updates to the KO system, improvements to the DISEASE and DRUG databases, and enhancements to sequence data for Enzyme Nomenclature. The new approach aims to make KEGG a valuable resource for both basic research and practical applications in clinical sequencing and drug development.The article introduces a new approach to understanding genome variations in KEGG, a comprehensive database for biological interpretation of genome sequences and high-throughput data. The authors, Minoru Kanehisa and colleagues, highlight the limitations of KEGG's generic approach in representing human-specific variations, particularly in the health information category. To address this, they have developed KEGG NETWORK, a database that explicitly incorporates human gene variants into network variants. This allows for the accumulation of knowledge about disease-related perturbations caused by gene variants, viruses, environmental factors, and drugs. The KEGG NETWORK database is designed to provide a detailed picture of network-disease associations, particularly for understanding human diseases. The article also discusses other developments in KEGG, including updates to the KO system, improvements to the DISEASE and DRUG databases, and enhancements to sequence data for Enzyme Nomenclature. The new approach aims to make KEGG a valuable resource for both basic research and practical applications in clinical sequencing and drug development.