Personalized Genome Sequencing and Data

The New York Times has it that the whole genome of Dr. Watson, who discovered the structure of the DNA (the hereditary material of all organisms), has been sequenced and made available for scientific research.

Dr. Rothberg’s company [,454 Life Sciences] makes an innovative DNA sequencing machine, the latest version of which proved capable of decoding Dr. Watson’s genome in two months at a cost of less than $1 million, said Michael Egholm, 454’s vice president for research. The sequence was verified and analyzed by Dr. Gibbs’s center in Houston.
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Some scientists believe that it will be medically useful to sequence patients’ genomes when the cost of sequencing falls to around $10,000 or less. Dr. Egholm said that with improvements already under way, the 454 sequencing machine will soon be able to sequence a human genome for $100,000. The cost of sequencing has been dropping so fast in the hands of groups like 454 Life Sciences and Solexa Inc. that some technologists predict the $10,000 genome will be attained in a few years.

When the cost of genome sequencing drops to a manageable amount, the idea of personalized medicine could become a reality, and Google which has invested in 23AndMe, a Life Sciences research start-up, could be exploiting on the vast amount of genetic information that will be uncovered in (can we expect...) one decade.

Until then...

Justin

{New York Times}

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